Zion Childress Receives Houston Homecoming

A former Kentucky Wildcat is scratching and clawing for a job on Sundays. Zion Childress is getting an opportunity in his hometown.

It wasn’t that long ago that Zion Childress was a star quarterback at New Caney High School. He was a two-time all-state selection, rushing for nearly 3,000 yards and throwing 21 touchdowns as a senior at a school that was just 45 minutes up I-69 from NRG Stadium. Now, he could be playing there on Sundays.

The Houston Texans have suffered a multitude of injuries in their secondary. They signed Childress from the Cowboys’ practice squad, and he could be thrown into the action this weekend.

All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is day-to-day with an oblique injury, and Jimmie Ward is stuck on the PUP list. The Texans made headlines with an offseason trade for Philly’s Super Bowl Champion, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, but surprisingly cut him after the season opened with three straight losses.

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That sounds like Zion Childress’ music.

Childress was not drafted, but immediately made a splash at Dallas Cowboys training camp. He initially made the 53-man roster, yet that only lasted for 24 hours. He joined the practice squad and was elevated for the last two games, serving in a special teams role.

Childress took a long and winding road to get back to H-Town. It all started with switching to safety in San Marcos. In two years at Texas State, he had 135 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble, and nine pass deflections in just 14 starts. He transferred to Kentucky and became a team captain for his final two seasons of college football. A chaos creator at nickel, Childress is an exceptional blitzer who also can jump into passing lane.

A transfer portal success story, one can only hope Zion Childress becomes an NFL success story.

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