SALT LAKE CITY — He’s so fast that even before he put down the second-fastest 40-yard dash time at this year’s NFL combine, ESPN’s resident NFL expert, Adam Schefter, took to Twitter to let the masses know about a 5-foot-9 nickelback named Javelin Guidry and the number he might throw down. Schefter’s sources, turns out, were spot on.
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Surprise, surprise.
Guidry’s 4.29 in the 40-yard dash made him one of the standouts of the combine, just two-tenths of a second behind Alabama wide receiver Henry Ruggs III. The former Utah nickel corner didn’t read the tweets or the hype ahead of his run. He didn’t see the benefit of it. Not before the biggest few days of his life. His parents were keeping Guidry informed, though, sending him along such tweets and articles previewing such a crucial race for the three-year starter.
The Pacific-12 Conference knew of Guidry’s speed, and of course, so did Utah’s staff, which recruited the former high school track star for a bunch of reasons but was certainly blown away by his speed as a teenager. He was the 100-meter state high school champion in two states: Texas in 2016 and California in 2017. He’s always been able to fly.
Guidry just needed to do it inside Lucas Oil Stadium with hundreds of front office eyes and NFL personnel fixated on him for a little more than four seconds.
Javelin Guidry's official 40-yard dash time: 4️⃣.2️⃣9️⃣ @Jav__K @Utah_Football #NFLCombine
— NFL (@NFL) March 1, 2020
“That’s the fastest electronic time I’ve ever had,” he said earlier this month. “I had a great start. It felt smooth. I was proud of my time, most definitely.”
It looked not only smooth but also effortless. Guidry’s 40 time is tied for the second-fastest by a defensive back at the combine since 2006.
Before the combine, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had Guidry as anywhere from a projected late-round pick to priority free-agent signee. Guidry’s successful weekend in Indianapolis might have changed that.
“It just gives confirmation that we all knew here in Utah and for him to be that consistent at a 4.29, the second-fastest time in the 40, just shows you, I think the kid gets drafted,” said Utah defensive backs coach Sharrieff Shah, “because the NFL recognizes speed kills. If I have somebody who can at least run with Tyreek Hill, I just need somebody who can be able to run with these fast dudes, Jav can be in the vicinity and then he can still make the play. I think he catapulted himself a little bit higher.”
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“We already knew Guidry was fast, but a 4.2 is a 4.2. And that’s the time that will be attached to him throughout his career, which will give him an added boost,” Brugler said. “As a football player, he is still raw with his mechanics and awareness, but teams will take a chance on that speed, even if it takes him a few seasons before he finds a steady role.”
It wasn’t just Guidry’s 40 time that made an impression. He also had 21 reps in the 225-pound press drill. Earlier this year, when he arrived at EXOS Sports in Dallas, his pre-combine training facility, Guidry said he was benching 225 just 13 times. Over the past two months, his training focused on shaving off time on his 40 but also bolstering his overall strength.
“I just kept working,” he said. “I got up to 20 two weeks before the combine. Then we just shut down benching 225. I knew I was going to get better than 20 in Indy. I just had to. I was always faster than I’m strong, but my parents gave me good genes.”
Guidry had planned to showcase his other skills, most prominently lateral drills and defensive back drills, at Utah’s pro day on March 26. But the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has halted pro days for future NFL prospects. Under these brand-new guidelines, NFL organizations can schedule no more than three phone or video calls with a draft prospect per week. Each of those calls, as reported by Brugler, cannot last more than an hour.
For an intriguing fringe prospect like Guidry, the cancellation of those events is an unfortunate circumstance. But he has that 4.29 40 on his résumé, and speed, as Shah explained, can catapult a player like Guidry from the undrafted-free-agent range to a potential late-round selection.
Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley was asked last week if Guidry is the fastest player he’s ever coached. (Mind you, Guidry ran a 6.59 in the 60-meter event at the UW Invitational in January 2019. At the time, it was tied for the seventh-fastest 60-meter time in the world.)
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Scalley’s first year coaching at his alma mater in 2008 featured another ridiculously fast former Texas prep product, Brice McCain. The former Utah corner ran a 4.19 inside the indoor arena near the Eccles football complex.
“I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it myself,” Scalley said. “That’s what got him drafted in the sixth round. He wasn’t invited to the combine. Then he had a number of years in the NFL.”
McCain was drafted by the Houston Texans in 2009. He went on to play nine years in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans. An undersized corner like McCain definitely paved a potential path for the nickel corner who had 25 starts and 41 appearances at Utah the past three seasons.
“There’s things you can’t coach. You can’t coach height and you can’t coach speed. To an extent, you can’t coach physicality. You’re either a dog or you’re not a dog,” Scalley said. “Javelin’s got speed to be able to cover whoever you want to cover. Where teams are going to look at him and say what’s the weakness? Obviously, you look at him and he’s not tall, but he’s a physical guy and he’s pretty football-savvy. He’s going to make a team, and somebody is really going to like him.”
Guidry said he met with more than 20 NFL teams at the combine.
“I believe it improved my stock,” he said of his time in Indianapolis. “I worked really hard in Dallas, training up for these couple of days, both mentally and physically. I had great interviews, and being able to talk with the coaches and being able to have them see me perform was great.
“I talked to a lot of teams and we were just watching film and seeing where they see me fit at their nickel position and showed me their schemes, as well.” Guidry had then pointed out that he would show off his movement at Utah’s pro day.
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For some prospects, the combine is a risk. Guidry knew he needed to shine in his area of expertise — pure speed — and he did. On top of that, there were some familiar faces in town. Corner Jaylon Johnson was Guidry’s roommate in Indianapolis during combine week. And who happened to be in the room next door? Former Utah safeties Julian Blackmon and Terrell Burgess.
“We just opened the door up and we just got to hang out in the same room and we were talking about our experiences at Utah and how we were all there together,” Guidry said. “We talked about all the hard work we put in and all the time coaches invested in us, and being able to be all there together it was just great.”
Guidry and Johnson graduated early from Utah and decided to forgo their senior seasons. Guidry said his decision boiled down to confidence in himself and the challenge of playing in the NFL.
“The coaching staff at Utah did a great job of supporting me when asking teams about me and giving me the right information I needed to make my decision,” he said.
Shah has been keeping his ear to the ground on his former nickel corner’s behalf. Among all the intangibles needed to compete in the Pac-12, Shah said the overall speed of Utah’s secondary has allowed it to make progress. Guidry’s speed is next-level, but there are plenty of speedsters still in the program, including former high school track stars like JaTravis Broughton and incoming 2020 signee Faybian Marks.
“At least from my discussions, he’s elevated his draft stock potential and maybe we’ll see him taken in the latter part of April,” Shah said. “I hope so.”
(Photo of Javelin Guidry: Joe Robbins / Getty Images)
