Utah defensive back Javelin Guidry is asked to cover receivers of all shapes and sizes and make open-field tackles when opponents run the football. For a 5-foot-9 player, that's a demanding job description.
And he's fulfilling it very well. Pro Football Focus made Guidry the highest-graded slot cornerback among all Power Five teams through eight weeks of the season, labeling him “a sticky cover man.”
Guidry will be more vital than ever Saturday, when the No. 16 Utes visit Arizona State. ASU receiver N'Keal Harry, who stands 6-4, is a projected NFL first-round draft pick. Utah's scheme won't likely ask Guidry to single-cover him all the time, but the Sun Devils have been lining up Harry inside lately, and that's just the kind of offensive strategy in college football that made Ute coach Kyle Whittingham change his defensive approach in recent years.