Zion Childress feels comfortable at nickel

Zion Childress is entering his third season at Kentucky and his fifth season of college football. The super senior has seen almost everything. The Wildcats are taking advantage of that experience in fall camp.

At Kentucky Fan Day, Zion Childress got some reps at nickel when Kentucky went to a five defensive back set with Ty Bryant coming in the game to join Jordan Lovett at safety as Childress moved down into the slot. After playing strictly safety the last two seasons for defensive coordinator Brad White, Childress is embracing is new role that is closer to the action.

“It’s going good. I feel like it allows me to learn more ball. It allows me to be more versatile. Just allows me to use my instincts and football skills a lot more. When I’m in the post (safety), I’m kind of back there not really in the game a lot of times because people don’t go there because there’s people there. They know they’re not supposed to go there,” Zion Childress told KSR on Saturday. “Just me being around the line of scrimmage it allows me to be around the ball more so I feel like I can be a lot more productive.”

“I feel like that’s also more of a natural position.”

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Through two seasons in Lexington, Childress has recorded 93 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, and six pass breakups. The former Texas State transfer has played in all 26 games and led the defense in snaps played (790) last season. Now the Wildcats are asking the veteran defensive back to take on more responsibility. Childress is embracing this role.

“It’s a lot more contact. Deal with a lot more bigger bodies but it’s more just being closer to the line of scrimmage. My run keys, pass keys, all that happens a lot faster. My eyes are in different spots,” said Childress. “It’ll be good for me.”

With Andru Phillips now with the New York Giants, Kentucky has a hole to fill at nickel. That hole became bigger when Alex Afari Jr. shifted inside to play linebacker. Jantzen Dunn can also play some nickel but it appears that Kentucky is choosing to get an extra safety on the field in their medium package. That means a bigger role for Zion Childress and more opportunity for a safety room that Kentucky feels good about entering the season.