Elisha Guidry Following A Family Tradition
Defensive back, Elisha Guidry (6-0, 173) from Murrieta (Calif.) Visit Murrieta is following a family tradition playing for UCLA. Guidry’s father, Javelin Guidry and his uncle Paul Guidry both played defensive back for the Bruins in the 1990’s. Guidry talks about his preparation for UCLA.
“I’ve been doing a lot actually,” Guidry said. “I’ve been working out going to the gym, going to the field, doing sand work, running hills. Doing different kind of drills, especially DB specific drills. I getting ready to play.
“I’ve been working out with my dad and when my brother [Javelin Guidry, Jr.] was in town and worked out with him. My brother plays for Utah, so we have been working out together. He has taught me some of the stuff that they [Utah] do. Different types of drills.
“There is a former NFL player, Bradley Randall, who went to my high school and he trains local guys in the area, so I work out with him, occasionally.
“Academically, I took three AP courses and I finished all that up. I was still challenging myself academically because I’m about to jump into college and getting my degree is really important to me. That is the reason I am going to school, to be a student-athlete.
“I’ve been asking my older brother a lot of questions about his experiences as a freshman. He played quite a bit as a freshman, so I’m asking him how he mentally prepared for stuff and how he got ready.
“Also I’ve been asking questions of my uncle and dad. They have been telling me stuff. They obviously had their playing days at UCLA, so I was trying to soak in as much information as I can, so I can use it to be as prepared as possible.”
The obvious question is how much did family ties to UCLA play into his decision. Guidry gives his reason why he chose the Bruins.
“I’ve always been a UCLA fan,” Guidry said. “My dad always took us to the games when we were younger. then when we moved to Texas, they were kind of my teams. We would always the games together on TV. UCLA was my team.
“Then in high school, that kind of went away and I didn’t really know where I wanted to go to college. I really didn’t have a dream school. I just worked in high school, when UCLA came around, I remembered why I liked the school. It is a great academic school and the football is good, too.
“Coach [Chip] Kelly being the new coach, he obviously has a history, being at Oregon, being in the NFL, and doing great things with players. That was obviously a draw.
“Talking with [defensive backs] Coach [Paul] Rhodes, he was a big part of my decision. I really liked him as a coach. He’s very technical and he’s very smart. I liked talking to Coach Rhodes about different stuff. I really like him as a coach and as a person, he’s really a cool dude.”
Guidry had an impressive list of academic schools to chose from.
“I was really thinking about going to Penn and other Ivies,” Guidry said. “I was accepted to the Wharton School. I considered Yale and Northwestern, those were the main schools that I shortened down my list too.”
Interesting enough, Guidry was another player that the former staff didn’t recruit that hard. Once Chip Kelly took over the reins of the program Guidry received a text.
“In December, I received a text from Coach Rhodes,” Guidry said. “He said that he was the new UCLA DB coach and talked a little bit that day. We started calling each other and started building that relationship. Then Coach Rhodes came for an in-home visit and talked about going on an official visit.
“I hadn’t committed anywhere yet and then I was offered before the visit. I went on my visit and I realized that UCLA was home.”
Guidry already knows what he wants to major in.
“I want to major in business-economics,” Guidry said. “After I finish my football career, I want to be a wealth manager for professional athletes because professional athletes aren’t really good with money and I want to help them out.”
Guidry earned all-league, all-academic and all-area honors after racking up 67 tackles, 22 pass deflections, three interceptions, two tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.