As Raphael Spencer prepared to run the 40-yard dash for quite possibly the final time in his athletic career, he took a few deep breaths and told himself to relax.
This was April 8, the date of the Chiefs’ annual local pro day, and Spencer — a graduate of O’Hara who just finished his senior season at Missouri Western — knew a lot was potentially riding on the moment.
The 4.7 he’d run a few weeks earlier at Missouri Western’s pro day was not ideal; to catch the eyes of NFL scouts, small-school skill players need to run fast.