Virtually none of Johnny Dingle’s draft process was what one might call unexpected. Long before he nonchalantly mentioned he was skipping his senior season to enter the draft, it was suspected he’d take a shot at the NFL. He didn’t light it up in the workouts and went undrafted before signing a free agent deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. In between, he’d pulled ESPN.com’s Pat Forde aside at a Fiesta Bowl event and told Forde he was going pro. Forde quickly put a story together for the Web before he found out his news wasn’t really news. Dingle later admitted he just wanted to talk to Pat Forde.

All of that was typical of Dingle. He wasn’t a prototypical prospect, but he was a colorful personality. He once high-fived an official at Syracuse and bothered a Rutgers offensive tackle to the point said player found Dingle after the game and said, “Man, you must be in great shape. You never stop talking.” Dingle loved to talk — the mind spins with thoughts of Dingle mingling with Herm Edwards — and he’d go on and on for as long as you’d listen. He didn’t get into his height and weight, though, and many suspected he was not 6-foot-3 and 275 pounds.

Dingle is slightly smaller and he figures his size worried NFL teams, except the Chiefs, who really need pass-rushers.

The Chiefs were at least willing to take a peek at Dingle’s ability, signing him as a rookie free agent. Now Dingle will be trying to show them that he is worth playing somewhere, anywhere. It doesn’t matter to him.

“I can feel comfortable playing up or down on the line,” he said. “I just want to play.”

What Dingle can do is move to the ball.

In 37 games at West Virginia, Dingle recorded 79 tackles, 52 of those solos. He had 14 1/2 sacks and 28 stops behind the line of scrimmage.

“My height was never a factor, I don’t think,” he said. “If you have a good upper body and keep working, that’s how you win the battles.”

Dingle was strong and quick and, most importantly, never stopped working, which often forced opponents to take shortcuts.