They’re UCLA’s Non-Matching Bookends

They’re close at home, but at the stadium Paul Guidry is the width of the field from his brother, Javelin, the two serving as bookends for UCLA’s defense at cornerback. Opposite islands in a stream of wide receivers.

While the other nine defenders are blitzing, stunting and generally trying to create confusion, the Guidrys have a simple task: line up and play man-to-man defense against players whose weekly goal is to embarrass cornerbacks.

Tennessee’s Marcus Nash and Joey Kent, for instance. The Bruins play at Knoxville on Saturday night.

“It ain’t a problem,” Paul Guidry said. “I think any cornerback would rather play man than zone. You didn’t come to college to sit in zone all day. Corners want to play man-to-man because then you have a chance to make plays [interceptions, fumble recoveries and broken-up passes].

“If you play zone, corners are usually the guys way in the back or way in the front, and there aren’t as many opportunities to make plays.”

Javelin nodded and smiled, saying nothing. The two aren’t exactly loquacious.

“They’re the same,” wide receiver Derek Ayers said. “They’re not outspoken. I think the only time Jav is outspoken is when it comes to Christianity. I think Paul is more outspoken about competitive things. When somebody wants to challenge him in something. that’s when he gets more verbal. Paul is very competitive.

“Javelin is competitive. He’ll play, but he’s not the kind who looks for a challenge. We call him Little Papa. He’s like an old man, a papa, relaxing in a chair and watching TV and being real quiet.”

Ayers has been Paul’s roommate for three seasons, and said this year they have “brought in the little guy” to their Culver City apartment.

Javelin is two years younger and 15 pounds lighter than his brother. They are close enough to punctuate each other’s sentences.

“People say we look alike,” Paul said. “A lot of the little things, you know. . . .”

”. . . tendencies . . .” Javelin said.

”. . . in growing up, like the way we think about money and things like that,” Paul said. “We have a lot of tendencies alike.”

Both have voracious appetites and are cooks, charged with keeping Ayers alive.

“I can’t cook a lick,” Ayers said.

But Paul’s specialty is chicken. Javelin’s is steak. Javelin bakes. Paul is learning how.

Javelin’s idea of a good time is Sunday morning in church. Paul’s is a video arcade, or beating Ayers or other teammates at dominoes.

Paul wears earrings. Javelin will exchange rings with Kaishaun Robinson in December. Paul wears a tattoo. Javelin wears a T-shirt extolling his relationship with religion.

Paul wants a kind of suspended youth, working for a video game company when he graduates from UCLA in June, developing some kind of electronic football challenge.

Javelin has spent time in the UCLA career counseling center, testing to see what the future might hold a year later and preparing to put football behind him.

He wants to speak to youth, “to give them some hope, dreams. A lot of kids have lost their dreams, and if you have no dreams, you just go wherever the world takes you. If you have dreams and hopes, you can shoot for something.”

It also helps if you have an older brother.

Paul was a running back and wide receiver at Cerritos Gahr High, gaining 1,012 all-purpose yards as a senior.

There was no sibling rivalry. Rather, there was a sibling challenge. His brother played junior varsity football then.

“It wasn’t hard for me, having an older brother,” Javelin said. “When he did all those things in high school, they were Paul’s things. So then I just had to come in and tear them down and really do greater. If you have an older brother who sets high goals, that’s something for you to shoot for, to do better. It was more of an asset for him to do great than it was a liability.”

Javelin rushed for 1,133 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior. He also had 19 receptions and three touchdowns and scored another touchdown as a defensive back.

By then, Paul had redshirted for a season and was a starting free safety and punt returner at UCLA. There were more footsteps to follow in Westwood.

“I wanted him to come to UCLA, but I didn’t want him to come, if you know what I mean,” said Paul. “I wanted him to come if he was happy. When he decided to come, I was excited because it was a chance to play with my brother, and that’s something we’ve never really had a chance to do.”

The two have had mirror careers at UCLA, Paul intercepting three passes in his three seasons, Javelin two passes in his two seasons. Paul also has an 11.3-yard average on 67 punt returns and was fifth in the nation and first in the Pacific 10 last season in the category, with a 15.1-yard average.

Between plays, they often share a private look and laugh.

“People sometimes have an idea of what we’re laughing at, but sometimes they don’t understand,” Javelin said, “Sometimes, because we think alike, something can happen and we just start laughing.”

They are their brother’s keeper.

“We’re getting to a point where he’s about to [graduate] and I’m about to get married,” Javelin said. “We’re taking big steps now, so the time we have right now is real valuable.”

And some of it is spent with Tennessee in mind, preparing for Saturday night on two islands, a field apart and a job together.