Zion Childress played two seasons at Texas State before making a move to Lexington for his final three years of eligibility. Playing in all 13 matchups as a redshirt sophomore, he started every game at Kentucky from there forward while serving as a team captain both seasons. You couldn’t take the All-SEC Honorable Mention off the field because he did nothing but produce, racking up 148 tackles and 10 tackles for loss as a Wildcat.
The Houston native went undrafted back in the spring and signed with the Cowboys as a free agent, but he’s proving to be hard to keep off the field in Dallas, too. In fact, he just might be the opening-day starter at nickel in Philadelphia against the Eagles.
Childress has been taking first-team reps with the Cowboys alongside DaRon Bland and Kaiir Elam, injuries elsewhere opening the door for the former Wildcat in the lineup. He made the most of his first opportunity by leading the defense in tackles against the Rams in the preseason opener, picking up six total and five solo — including one tackle for loss.
“It’s been great for me,” Childress said of his start in Dallas. “Just being able to show my ability to play football and play fast and eventually, when game time comes, I can show that I play physical. But it’s been nothing but a confidence booster, coming out here every day, just the encouragement I’m getting from my teammates and coaches daily, and the athletes I’m competing against does nothing but bring out the best in me, so I appreciate the opportunity.”
It comes after first-year Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer told him during rookie minicamp that there was a spot for him in the rotation if he went out there and took it.
“He told me I would have a good opportunity to be in the mix,” Childress said, via The Dallas Morning News. “He told the wrong guy that, because I take advantage of every opportunity.”
It aligns with his time in Lexington, coming out of left field to become a top playmaker — and fan favorite — on the Kentucky defense. He made coaches fall in love with him in practice first, then Big Blue Nation did the same on Saturdays.
He’s making a similar first impression with the historic star logo on his helmet.
“I was always taught you show people with your work ethic who you are,” the former Wildcat said. “They’ll love you or they’ll hate you, and they just started loving me, and everybody followed suit.”
Childress was Mr. Versatility at Kentucky, playing multiple safety spots and nickel corner under Mark Stoops and Brad White. Now back in his home state of Texas, he’s doing the same in Dallas.
“Zion has done a nice job for a young player,” Schottenheimer said last week. “I think you see some of the skills that we saw coming out of Kentucky that we really liked, but we’ll keep trying different groups and units.”
If his time in Lexington is any indication, once he earns the starting nod, Childress doesn’t give it up easily. We’ll see if Dallas pulls the trigger.