Former University of Utah cornerback Javelin Guidry was close to finishing his bachelor’s degree when he declared for the NFL draft after his junior season back in early 2020.
Fast-forward five years, and Guidry has made the goal of getting his degree a reality.
Guidry is one of 11 Utah football players who graduated from the school this year and were celebrated during the university’s commencement ceremony on Thursday evening at the Huntsman Center.
“I think I only had like a quarter left from 2019 when I declared (for the NFL draft),” Guidry told the Deseret News earlier this week. “I wanted to go back and finish. I was busy every offseason. It just felt like it was a perfect time to get it done.”
What pushed Javelin Guidry to earn his degree?
The 26-year-old Guidry, whose NFL career started with the New York Jets and has included being a part of six franchises, was motivated to finish what he started — getting his degree in financial planning and counseling.
“That was motivation, too. Like, hold on, I’m the big brother. I was supposed to be first, but obviously I was playing and (was) so busy. But I’m just so grateful to be able to finish, and grateful for them as well, for the support my family gave me.”
— Javelin Guidry on how his brother and sister helped motivate him to finish his degree
“My mentality was just always finish what you start. That was always in the back of my mind when I was training in New York and playing,” he said. “I was just trying to find time, but it just didn’t feel right because you go through the long season, then it’s the offseason, you want to just chill. But it was always in the back of my mind, like, ‘Let me finish this.’”
Family, too, played into his determination to reenroll at the University of Utah and get his degree. Guidry has a younger brother and a younger sister, and they both earned their degrees — his brother from UCLA, and his sister from San Diego State.
“That was motivation, too. Like, hold on, I’m the big brother. I was supposed to be first, but obviously I was playing and (was) so busy,” he said. “But I’m just so grateful to be able to finish, and grateful for them as well, for the support my family gave me.”
Where Javelin Guidry’s NFL experience has taken him
Guidry is well known to Utah fans — he is one of the success stories of a Utes defensive backfield that has produced other NFL talents like Jaylon Johnson, Julian Blackmon, Marcus Williams, Cole Bishop, Terrell Burgess and Clark Phillips III.
Many of those guys were his teammates when he played at Utah from 2017-19.
Following his junior season at Utah, Guidry declared for the NFL draft. A onetime track star, Guidry’s 4.29-second, 40-yard time at the NFL combine caught the attention of NFL teams, and after going undrafted, he signed with the New York Jets.
During his first two NFL seasons, Guidry played in 28 games for the Jets and had 70 tackles, four forced fumbles and three pass deflections while finding a role in New York’s secondary.
Since those first few seasons with the Jets, Guidry has bounced around the NFL. He’s also joined the Arizona Cardinals, Las Vegas Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions, along with a second stint in New York.

Why it was time to get his degree
Guidry spent time last August on the Lions’ roster before being a part of final cuts prior to the regular season.
At that point, Guidry decided it was time to focus on getting his degree.
He talked with two Utah athletic administrators to get the process started — director of academics Mary Chris Finnigan and football academic coordinator Cyrus Satoafaiga.
“Me and Mary … had a sitdown on Zoom and planned it all out and figured out all the stuff I had to do to graduate, just coordinating all the classes, balancing it with the workload to finish on time. I’m grateful for it, for sure,” Guidry said.
He was able to complete his courses online, and was thankful for the generosity he received from members of Utah’s staff through the process.
“I met with some professors on Zoom to get some help with a couple things. I’m grateful for the staff at Utah, because they helped me out a lot,” he said.
Why financial advisement?
Guidry will be in Salt Lake City Friday to walk during the College of Social and Behavioral Science Convocation at the Huntsman Center.
His education at Utah “absolutely” helped when Guidry got to the pros.
“I feel like you have to be very intentional about managing the money. For me, it was just about being smart and always saving more money than I spend,” Guidry said.
“I always try to help my colleagues out as well, just because it’s so short, the time spent playing. ... I just wanted to help myself and my family as well, get us into the best situation.”
Guidry, whose high school days included starring at Murrieta High in California, now lives in the Los Angeles area and said he hasn’t closed the door on his playing career.
“I’m still training for it, getting ready to sign during training camp, just going from there day by day,” he said.
Once his playing days are done, though, Guidry intends to use that degree to pursue work in the financial planning and counseling world, particularly in regards to athletes, as well as athletic training.
“I definitely want to be a financial planner and explore that field as well as being like an athletic trainer,” he said. “I feel like I have a lot of knowledge about the game and sprinting mechanics. I actually had a couple clients, a couple young kids, helping them on running and sprinting, just the mechanics about it. I would definitely like to do that, too.”
The college game has changed tremendously since Guidry was suiting up for the Utes, thanks to name, image and likeness rules that allow student-athletes to earn their own revenue that wasn’t previously available.
He just missed out on it, Guidry joked, and said he’s happy for those college athletes who are able to secure NIL deals.
His advice for those athletes who have the chance to cash in, thanks to NIL?
“I’d say, just be very intentional about managing your money and doing the research on your own. If you’re investing it or whatever you’re doing with it, make sure you understand it, so that … you know in depth, what it means, where your money’s going,” he said.
“I’d say to know where your money is going and have a plan so that for the future, you can have that generational wealth that everyone seeks out.”
