Zion Childress: DB · Kentucky · #11.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Zion Childress
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Played for two head coaches across five seasons and two programs. On tape: 8 tackles against Tennessee, Week 10, 2024.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
55 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 6 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Kentucky | 55 | 34 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 2 | -- |
| 2023 | Kentucky | 58 | 40 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3 | -- |
| 2022 | Kentucky | 31 | 16 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2 | -- |
| 2021 | Texas State | 74 | 41 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 5 | 1 |
| 2020 | Texas State | 61 | 35 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 4 | -- |
| Career | 279 | 166 | 12.0 | 3.0 | 16 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 31-0vs Southern Miss | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 6-31vs South Carolina | 5 | 4 | 3.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | 3.0 TFL |
| Wk 3 | L 12-13vs No. 1 Georgia | 6 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 4 | W 41-6vs Ohio | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 20-17@ No. 6 Ole Miss | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 13-20vs Vanderbilt | 7 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 20-48@ Florida | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 10-24vs Auburn | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 18-28@ No. 7 Tennessee | 8 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 12 | W 48-6vs Murray State | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 14-31@ No. 3 Texas | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 14 | L 14-41vs Louisville | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 55 | 34 | 6.0 | 1.0 | — | 2 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
4%2 pass breakupsTackle volume
55tackles this seasonTFL rate
11%6 TFL55 tackles · 6 for loss · 1 sack · 2 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home8g | 4.1 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Road4g | 5.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.5 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 4.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mark Stoops
Pass share
42.1%
311 pass / 427 run
Plays / game
61.5
12 games
Team sack rate
11.1%
351 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2024
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #226 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Texas State and Kentucky, 279 tackles — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 58 games over five seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Jake Spavital and Mark Stoops.
