Houston native played in 24 games with 14 starts at Texas State
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Former Texas State defensive back Zion Childress has signed to play football at the University of Kentucky, head coach Mark Stoops announced Friday. He will be eligible immediately and will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.
“We are excited to have Zion be a part of our program,” Stoops said. “He played two years at Texas State and he was a proven defensive starter in the Sun Belt Conference. He has the chance to come in and really contribute to our team because he’s so versatile. He can play multiple spots on our defense and with his background of being a former quarterback, he really understands the game. He’s young, athletic and talented, and we can’t wait to help develop him here.”
Childress, a 6-foot-0, 195-pound safety from Houston, played two seasons at Texas State, appearing in 24 games with 14 starts. In 2021, he played in all 12 of the Bobcats’ games with eight starting nods, tallying 74 tackles (41 solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, an interception, five pass breakups and two forced fumbles. He ranked 17th in the Sun Belt in total tackles, 10th in the conference in solo tackles, and third on the team in tackles. He was one of three Bobcats to intercept a pass, tied for second on team in forced fumbles and third on the team in pass breakups.
As a freshman in 2020, he played in 12 games with six starts at nickel back. He recorded 61 tackles to tie for fifth among team leaders and ranked third on the team with 35 solo stops. He broke up four passes, recovered a fumble against SMU, recorded a career-best nine tackles at No. 11-ranked BYU, tallied seven stops at Georgia Southern and had six tackles against SMU and Boston College.
Childress was a three-star prospect out of Houston’s New Chaney High School where he starred as the school’s quarterback. He was a two-time District 9-5A-I Overall Most Valuable Player and ran for nearly 3,000 yards and had 21 touchdown passes as a senior.
Kentucky football is slated to play eight homes games this fall. The schedule includes matchups against Southeastern Conference foes South Carolina (Oct. 8), Mississippi State (Oct. 15), Vanderbilt (Nov. 12) and defending national champion Georgia (Nov. 19). UK will also host nonconference matchups against Miami University (Sept. 3), Youngstown State (Sept. 17), Northern Illinois (Sept. 24) and Louisville (Nov. 26).
Visit UKFootballTix.com for great deals on tickets and more information. Prefer to speak with an expert? Fans may work together with a personal ticketing consultant to compare and purchase available seat locations by requesting a call or by contacting the UK Sales Office at (800) 928-2287 (Option 1).