SALT LAKE CITY — Lining up against the UCLA Bruins on the football field isn’t where Javelin K. Guidry hoped to be growing up.

Instead, he wished to don blue and gold just as his father and uncle had.

The defensive back grew up as a Bruins fan by default. His father, Javelin Guidry Sr., and uncle, Paul, played for UCLA in the mid-1990s. The duo were teammates, playing opposite from each other as cornerbacks. Paul played at UCLA from 1993 to 1996, finishing his career with three picks and one punt return for a touchdown. Guidry’s father played from 1995 to 1997, finishing with four-career interceptions.

“We went to all the games,” Guidry said of his early memories of cheering for UCLA. “We’d be on the sideline, in the locker rooms, all of that.”

Seasons of change

Guidry grew up playing running back. He loved the power of the offense and scoring, rushing by defenders with his quick speed. He looked up to professional running back Adrian Peterson, hence why the 19-year-old wears No. 28.

Born and raised in Long Beach, California, Guidry moved from the only home he knew before he started ninth grade. He and his family moved from California to Texas so his mother, Kaishauna, could attend medical school at Texas A&M.

In his freshman year of high school, Guidry’s father talked to him about the idea of switching to cornerback. His father didn’t want his son to mimic his career by switching to the position he once played, but rather knew a defensive back’s playing career is a lot longer than a running back’s.

Guidry was open to making the switch to defense.

“Offense was always fun to me,” Guidry said. “But DBs have a longer career in the NFL, their feet are healthy.”

While his mother was continuing her medical education, Guidry attended two different high schools — A&M Consolidated and Cedar Park. Guidry excelled as a student-athlete and was a two-time first-team All-District 25-5A pick as a sophomore and junior at Cedar Park. He finished his sophomore season with 63 tackles, seven interceptions and two forced fumbles.

The running back turned defensive back still saw action on the offensive side of the ball. He rushed for 293 yards and four touchdowns in his sophomore year and added 378 rushing yards and five touchdowns in his junior year.

The Guidrys moved back to California before their son’s senior year, where he graduated from Vista Murrieta High School. For the third time in four years, Guidry joined a new team and high school.

Seeing his mother work hard to become a doctor inspired Guidry. He saw firsthand how hard work paid off, so he put in a great deal of effort as he prepared for college football. Just like in Texas, Guidry played both defensive back and running back. He finished his senior year with 38 tackles, six interceptions and 31 defended passes. He also had 589 rushing yards and three touchdowns as a running back with an additional 233 receiving yards.

When Guidry wasn’t on the turf, he was on the track. With lightning speed, the senior led the track and field team as the 100-meter state champion — something he accomplished in both California and Texas. Guidry recorded the fastest all-conditions 100-meter time in California state history in 2017 with a blazing 10.13 seconds.

Decisions, decisions

With college football on his mind his senior year, Guidry hoped UCLA would “show him some love,” especially since he returned to California in time for 12th grade. Instead, the California hopeful wasn’t looked at by the Bruins.

“When I moved back, I was kind of upset (UCLA) didn’t give me love,” Guidry said. After a long pause, he shrugged and added, “That’s recruiting.”

Guidry had a line of schools give him offers, though. In May 2016, he committed to the University of Houston but decommitted six months later. Two days later, the Utes sent the defensive back an offer. The offers continued to roll in with the University of Texas giving him a proposal in January. Texas and Utah were neck-and-neck as Guidry paid both schools a visit before deciding where he’d compete at the next level.

After visiting the Utes, it was clear Utah was the place for him. Having his family living a few states east meant it would be easier for them to travel to watch him play not only in Salt Lake City, but also the Utes’ conference road games. That was important to him.

“I felt Utah was the best place for me," Guidry said. "The family atmosphere, how they work, the Pac-12, staying home on the West Coast.”

Looking back on recruiting the 5-foot-9, 188-pound freshman, Utah cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah described the heavy role that he and defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley played getting him to come to Utah. Shah knew the appeal that Texas had on Guidry, especially having played ball in the state.

“Who wouldn’t be enamored by a University of Texas offer?” Shah said.

Shah described going up against Texas for Guidry as “tough,” but a network of connections ultimately helped seal the deal for the Utes. Kaishauna and Shah went to the same high school in Los Angeles, and Guidry’s father played football with Shah’s younger brother at UCLA. Suddenly, the Southern California connection was favoring Guidry in ways he didn’t expect.

Practice makes perfect

“He’s a smart kid. He has a willingness to learn,” Shah said.

When Guidry enrolled at Utah in August, he told his position coach that his biggest challenge was learning zone coverage.

“He said, ‘coach, I need to learn zone concepts,’” Shah said. “I said, ‘OK. We have to be able to do that because we can’t play man 90 snaps. We’ll die.’”

Guidry said he always operated in a man coverage in high school, but added that "learning what everyone else is doing is really helping me."

While the freshman continues improving his game, his inclination to learn is paying off. He’s competed in all of Utah’s games this season with three starts at nickelback — earning the job over senior Boobie Hobbs — and is listed to start again in game nine.

Guidry moved up to the starting spot for the Utes’ conference opener at Arizona, and in the fourth quarter, he scored his first career touchdown on his first career interception. If you blinked, you missed it. His speed showed on the play as he ran 14 yards to the end zone.

Guidry lights up talking about his first pick-six.

“All week when we’d watch film, when the running back goes out, the slot always comes in on a slant or some in-route,” he explained. “I was patient. He threw it, I jumped it and made a play and scored.”

The only thing that would’ve made the interception sweeter for Guidry?

“I wish it was longer. We have a couple more games though,” he said laughing.

Guidry’s early success stems from the way Shah runs practice. In his own words, Shah said he’s “not the kindest person at times.” He expects a lot from his defensive backs because he knows the unit’s potential.

“I don’t care if you’re tired or not,” Shah said. “Perform and practice at a high level. (Guidry’s) had to adapt to a few things — practicing the right way to play at a high level. I’m happy that he’s accepted it.”

Watching Guidry warm up or compete, it’s not hard to see he runs effortlessly. He makes accelerating look easy, proving his speed is as advertised from his high school days. Guidry said his speed is all about being smart and knowing how fast to go on certain routes.

“You just keep running and run as fast as you can. Be smart on how you accelerate and decelerate on the routes,” Guidry said.

“You have to play with a level of acceleration,” said Shah. “For (Guidry), I don’t let him just coast because he is the fastest, hands down, on the team.”

The team’s nickelbacks are known for their speed. Hobbs runs a 4.38-second 40-yard dash. Guidry clocked a 4.35-second 40 at The Opening Regional in Dallas.

Overall, Shah is “pleasantly surprised” with Guidry and how he’s handled his freshman season thus far. He’s appreciates Guidry’s honesty and admitting when he’s confused to get clarity.

“He’s doing well. I think we’ve asked him to do a lot in terms of understanding a whole lot," Shah said. "It becomes overwhelming. He has a lot of natural attributes that allow him to recover in ways other folks can’t.”

As for the boy who once wanted to don blue and gold just as his father and uncle had, Guidry feels blessed to be able to line up wearing Utah’s drum and feathers. Just like his mother’s hard work paying off, Guidry is seeing the reward from his efforts on the practice field and training room.

“I worked really hard,” Guidry said. “God blessed me with my ability to make plays on the field. I’m making the most of my opportunities every chance I get.”

Even if it’s against the UCLA Bruins.

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