Utah struggles to slow down top Texas receiver in the Alamo Bowl

San Antonio • Javelin Guidry is a two-time All-Pac-12 selection as a nickel back for the University of Utah.

The junior has played in 41 games with 25 starts, including 12 starts in 14 games this season. He has been an integral part of a strong Utes secondary, and figures to be a large piece of the puzzle in 2020 for head coach Kyle Whittingham.

On Tuesday against Texas in the Alamo Bowl, Guidry had a tough night. A handful of times, he was put in 1-on-1 situations against talented Longhorns receivers and while he may have defended well, the end result of the play did not go his way.

“Good throws, good catches,” Whittingham said. “Javelin had good position, just has to do a better job finding the football. He was in position and wasn’t able to find the ball two or three times. The toughest single skill in football is a deep ball that a DB has to find and locate at top speed and make a play.”

Midway through the second quarter, Texas star junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger lofted a deep ball down the left sideline for Devin Duvernay. The national leader in total receptions entering bowl season, Duvernay was well covered by Guidry, but came up with a 40-yard reception anyway.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Texas Longhorns defensive back B.J. Foster (25) and defensive lineman Malcolm Roach (32) pile on Utah Utes quarterback Tyler Huntley (1) for a quarterback sack in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019.

In the fourth quarter, with Texas looking for the knockout, Ehlinger hit Duvernay for 37 yards with Guidry covering, then hit him again five plays later for a 15-yard touchdown and a 31-10 lead. Duvernay finished with those three catches for 92 yards, giving him 106 receptions for the season.

“The quarterback threw great balls, the receiver did a great job catching the ball, I just have to get better at making plays on the ball,” Guidry said.

Utah was without key members of its secondary for the Alamo Bowl. Jaylon Johnson opted out as he begins preparations for the NFL draft. All-American senior safety Julian Blackmon was lost to injury in the Pac-12 championship against Oregon, as was his primary backup R.J. Hubert.

We will never know what kind of an impact a healthy Utah secondary would have had on this game. Whittingham, for what it’s worth, has never been interested in hypotheticals.

“We certainly missed those guys, but they weren’t there,” Whittingham said. “Injuries are part of the game and it’s next man up. Jaylon decided he needed to sit this one out. You’re certainly going to miss two of your best players, but nobody cares, like I’ve said over and over. The coaches that sit there and whine about injuries and it drives me nuts. You’ve gotta go out and get it done.”