Zion Childress is making a name for himself in the Kentucky secondary
Kentucky might just have another NFL-caliber defensive back patrolling Brad White‘s secondary. And his name is Zion Childress.
Anyone who watched Kentucky’s tight 13-12 loss to No. 1 Georgia on Saturday night knows exactly why Childress is making headlines over the last 24 hours. Yes, his pick-six in the second quarter that was later called back by the officials was an impressive play (and a heartbreak for the Big Blue Nation) on its own. Had it stood, Kentucky would have taken a 10-0 lead midway through the period with Georgia fully playing on its heels
“Man, I wish they would have let it stand,” the senior safety said postgame. “We win the game if they let it stand. But I can’t be nothing but thankful for my guys and be appreciative of my guys for their effort and how hard they played.”
That call (correct or not) proved to be a massive moment in a game that finished with just one total touchdown. But even if we look past that questionable decision from the refs, Childress was still all over the field against the Bulldogs from start to finish.
Childress, who spent his first two college years at Texas State before transferring to UK ahead of the 2022 season, finished with six tackles (tied for the team-high), five of them solo, along with one pass breakup against the nation’s number one team. His PFF grade of 73.8 was not only the highest on Kentucky’s defense, but it was also the highest of any Wildcat who took Kroger Field on Saturday.
“Zion is a good player. He does a lot of good things,” Stoops said postgame. “He usually plays well. He gets a little overanxious sometimes, I think early in the season as I mentioned many times in here and throughout the preseason: do your job and then play football. And I think Zion has a good feel for the game. He has done some things like any players. You know what I mean. Any mistake he’s made, he learns from them, and it looks like he showed up pretty well today.”
It didn’t take Childress long to establish himself as a starter in Kentucky’s secondary once he arrived. He played in all 13 games as a redshirt sophomore in 2022 before starting all 13 games in 2023 as a team captain. Now a two-year starter in 2024, Childress is looking to put himself on the NFL Draft radar.
He’s making a good case as a future pro, too.
When you start a season with 15 tackles (13 solo), five tackles for loss, one sack, one pass break up, one quarterback hit, and one forced fumble through three games (two against SEC teams), which Childress has done for the ‘Cats, it makes you hard to ignore. And even though the pick-six won’t officially count in the record books, the video of his 55-yard run into the end zone isn’t going away.
“It’s still on tape,” Childress said with a smirk. “That’s the best part.”
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