ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Long after his Kansas City Chiefs teammates had retreated to the air conditioning of their locker room, running back Charcandrick West still was mingling with fans who had come to watch a recent training camp practice.

West smiled until the last autograph had been signed and the last photo taken. Every request was accommodated. This obviously wasn’t duty for West -- it's a part of being an NFL player that he genuinely enjoys.

“I don’t want anybody to feel left out,’’ West said. “I know I can’t change the world, but I’m going to try to do as much as I can to show that athletes really do care about the fans. If they take the time to wait for us [after practice], why can’t I take the time for them?

Charcandrick West always is willing to go the extra mile with Chiefs fans, like he did at training camp on Tuesday. Adam Teicher/ESPN.com

“The fans that come out here, the weather is not all that [good]. It’s hot. I’ve got to show them some appreciation for coming out and watching this.’’

West enjoys the public part of being a pro athlete, but he doesn’t change once he gets into the locker room. He takes his ever-present smile there and even out on the practice field.

“He makes me smile,’’ running back Spencer Ware said. “He makes my day a lot easier out here.’’

West and offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif joined the Chiefs in 2014 as rookies, West being undrafted and Duvernay-Tardif a sixth-round draft pick. Their teammates didn’t know what to think of either one, West with the unusual first name and Duvernay-Tardif from Canada’s McGill University, where he had been a medical student.

“Nobody really knew who he was because he wasn’t drafted,’’ Duvernay-Tardif said. “But he would go up to everyone and talk to them. I was the French-Canadian with the mediocre English, but he would include me, too. That’s what I think about when I think of him. That plus it took everybody a while to learn how to pronounce his name.

“He’s one of those guys that always has a smile on his face whether it’s 7 o’clock in the morning getting ready to go to practice or after a big win. He’s always going to be the one smiling in the locker room. It gives everybody a little bit more optimism. It brings everybody together.’’

Asked whether he had ever seen West in a down moment, Duvernay-Tardif just shook his head and laughed.

West has had down days since joining the Chiefs. He was cut at the end of his rookie training camp. His fourth-quarter fumble cost the Chiefs the chance for a comeback victory in an October game last year against the Minnesota Vikings.

Neither wiped the smile from his face nor killed his infectious optimism.

“I have tough days,’’ West said. “But I always remember way down deep that it could be so much worse. I always remember that. When I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is call my grandmother and my mother. Hearing their voices cheers me up. It reminds me I’m up and breathing. Then I come out here, and I can’t ask for a better job. There were times I didn’t think I would ever play football again. So to even be here is a blessing.

“I came back the next week [after the Minnesota game] and had a good game because I never hang my head over anything. I try to take a positive outlook on everything.’’

West rushed for 110 yards and scored his first professional touchdown in the following week’s victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, a result that started Kansas City’s 10-game winning streak.

That streak altered West’s career. In the absence of the injured Jamaal Charles, he wound up leading the Chiefs in rushing. He received a new contract from the Chiefs at the end of the season.

West is no longer an anonymous hopeful. He became a fan favorite and a fantasy football darling. So the demands on his time from the fans has increased from last year.

“When I was a nobody, I was happy to take a picture with fans,’’ he said. “Why would I change once I get a name for myself?’’