HOUSTON – For Zion Childress, standing inside the Texans’ locker room, being teammates with C.J. Stroud and playing for his hometown football team is a surreal moment.
Childress was an all-state quarterback at New Caney who rushed for nearly 3,000 career yards and threw 21 touchdown passes as a senior.
The Texans signed the rookie nickel off the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad one day after cutting safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
“Man, it’s a true blessing,” Childress told KPRC 2. “Exciting moment for my family. Just to be the first guy in my family to make it this far, and just to be able to do it for my hometown team has been great. Truly nothing short of a blessing.”
Childress went undrafted out of Kentucky and signed with the Dallas Cowboys.
He performed well enough that he made the initial 53-man roster before being released and signed to the practice squad. He was elevated twice and recorded one tackle this season before joining the Texans.
“The Cowboys experience was great,” Childress said. “You see why all the hype is around it. You see the machine, the Cowboys. The Star is the machine for sure. It was great, a great opportunity to be there.
“It’s a great place to start your NFL career and just to learn the ropes and to also just be around some great people in that building. And have a great staff over there, great players, it’s a real family over there.”
A two-time team captain at Kentucky after transferring from Texas State, Childress was named the Montgomery County Player of the Year.
He finished with 283 career tackles, 148 over the past two seasons at Kentucky, with 12 tackles for losses, three sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and 17 pass breakups.
As a senior, Childress was an All-Southeastern Conference honorable-mention selection with 55 tackles, six for losses, six quarterback hurries, one sack and one forced fumble.
As a junior, he had 59 tackles and one sack.
At Texas State, he started eight games and had 74 tackles, one interception and two forced fumbles.
The former Kentucky standout participated in the Texans’ local prospect day before the NFL draft.
He primarily plays nickel and is learning behind Jalen Pitre.
“Just be able to be around the ball a lot, the physicality I can bring to the game,” Childress said. ” Anytime you’ve got a good player in the nickel spot that can consistently change the game, it’s very effective for your defense.”
Being back in Houston is emotional for Childress.
“Just trying to take it all in, being really appreciative for this opportunity,” Childress said. “It’s a blessing just wanna be able to show out and let people in Houston remember the name.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
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