How Zion Childress' Time as a High School QB is Helping Him Become a Leader in Kentucky's Secondary
LEXINGTON, Ky. — While it was overshadowed by a lack of offense for the entirety of the 2022 season, Kentucky's defense posted impressive numbers and did its best to hold down the collapsing fort.
The Wildcats ranked No. 12 in total defense, allowing an average of 311.4 yards a game. Defensive coordinator Brad White saw his side of the ball allow more than 25 points in a game just once. Seven games saw the opposing offense scores less than 20 points.
While the rushing defense was far from mediocre (140.6 YPG, 49th in Division I), it didn't hold a candle to the lockdown passing defense, which allowed just 170.8 YPG through the air, the seventh-best mark in the country.
Veteran corners Carrington Valentine and Keidron Smith, as well as senior safety Tyrell Aijan led the charge in the secondary, but all three have left and are now pursuing careers in the NFL. This of course calls for new leaders in the defensive back room.
One of those emerging talents is junior defensive back Zion Childress, who transferred to Kentucky a season ago from Texas State. He appeared in 24 games and made 12 starts across two seasons as a Bobcat, recording 135 tackles.
His addition to the UK secondary in 2022 was welcomed for depth in a backup role, but there were no eyes glaring at the Houston native expecting major production. In Kentucky's first seven games, he recored just 12 tackles. Then came a surprising finish to his first campaign as a Wildcat.
After notching five tackles in the loss at Tennessee, Childress followed that outing with a nine-tackle game at home against Georgia — six of which were solo. He then added five more, a sack and a pass deflection in the Governor's Cup win over Louisville, then three more tackles and another PD in the Music City Bowl against Iowa.
That finish to the year has both he and White excited about what's to come in 2023:
"How last season ended — it shouldn't be a step back from there. It should be steps forward from that point. My confidence is at that point, or even higher than it was at the end of last season," Childress said. "Just being able to be that guy on the field, where coach knows i'm going to be where i'm supposed to be, it allows me to just play ball."
"I just think he gained a comfort level within the system. He was around a strong group of guys," White added. "They embraced him quickly, then he felt comfortable to sort of mature within the system. It's that old deal, like — you get a quarterback with the first pick of the draft and you want to just throw him to the wolves — or do you want a guy who can grow under somebody."
Funnily enough, that quarterback analogy hits a little closer to home with Childress, as the 6-footer was a QB for two years of high school at New Caney in Texas — where he was a two-time District 9-5A-I Overall Most Valuable Player and two-time First-Team All-State selection.
Like any QB, Childress finds that becoming a leader in a room that just lost a heap of veterans is a job that he fits the bill for rather easily. It may not always be vocal, but it'll always show in his commitment to the game.
"It comes naturally for me as a high school quarterback, transitioning to DB, leading guys is naturally what I do," he said. "Not as far as talking, but as far as leading by actions, working hard. I pride myself on making sure nobody works harder than me. The more guys that see that, the more guys adopt that habit."
And just because he made the switch to the secondary from under center, doesn't mean that he lost of his prior knowledge from the mind of a signal-caller. Harking back to those two seasons in high school actually helps him improve as a defender, as getting in the mind of an opposing QB isn't a foreign language.
"I'm a student of the game," Childress said. "I talk about that a lot, learning football. Anything that I learn, anything that's said to me maybe once or twice — it's stuck in my brain. I just kind of eliminate things based on what the offense is showing me, being able to store data."
That's shown in his game. 76 of those 135 tackles at Texas State were of the solo variety. 19 of his 35 tackles in 2022 were as well. Childress broke up nine passes and had an interception in two years in San Marcos. That ballhawk ability is partially what caught the eye of White before he arrived in Lexington.
"He's been showing a great willingness to tackle, even at Texas State, the thing that got me really excited is he had a pension for ball production, stripping, punching, he's got a natural feel for that," White said. "We need that kind of playmaker on the field to create some turnovers for us."
Childress will now move into a starting safety role in 2023, filling Aijan's place. He, safeties Jalen Geiger and Jordan Lovett, cornerbacks Maxwell Hairston, JQ Hardaway, nickels Andru Phillips, Alex Afari and others all carry the skill necessary to carry over the impressive stats put up by the 2022 unit.
Childress is another example of the assembly line of growth that has persisted in White's defenses over the years: Bide your time, be a sponge, then take advantage of additional opportunities when they arise.
"He didn't feel like he had to thrusted into a day-one starting role, and now he gained confidence through the reps that he got," White said of Childress. "Now that confidence is just through the roof right now. We need to keep it there, but i'm really pleased with where he is."
Notes and Observations from Kentucky's Latest Open Practice HERE.
Devin Leary Discusses His Decision to Transfer to Kentucky HERE.
More from Kentucky's NFL Pro Day HERE.
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