KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas State defensive lineman and Lee's Summit native Felix Anudike-Uzomah was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the NFL Draft.
"I had a dream this like four times in my lifetime and it’s crazy I’m living in the moment," Anudike-Uzomah said late Thursday night.
Tyler Terrance was with him Thursday night when the announcement was made.
“When we got called, the whole house just exploded and the excitement and emotions," Terrance said. "Felix was all calm. He was trying to be calm when the camera was on. As soon as the camera turned off, all the emotions poured out of him and everybody else.”
Terrance and Anudike-Uzomah played football together at Lee's Summit High School.
Eric Thomas is head football coach at Lee's Summit and remembers Anudike-Uzomah's transformation.
“No one thought he was very good. He hadn’t grown very much," Thomas said Friday. "He just stayed the course, preserved and became a two-time all-state football player for us."
Thomas said the Chiefs expect tenacity from the Lee's Summit native.
"He’s an every down player that just plays extremely fast and extremely hard all the time and he did that all the way through high school.”
Terrance said he's happy to see his friend's hard work finally be rewarded.
“He been proving people wrong his whole life and he’s been exceeding expectations everywhere he goes," Terrance said.
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