With deep Lapwai roots, Arizona State’s Xavier Guillory honors memory of late father in football and faith

In Lapwai, Xavier Guillory is the talk of the town.

Neighbors and family friends had always taken an interest in Xavier’s football career, but when his team, the Arizona State Sun Devils, went from a projected last-place finish to Big 12 Champions with a berth to the College Football Playoff thanks in part to his acrobatic catches and authoritative blocks, the whole nation began to take notice.

“He’s well-known in Indian country,” Xavier’s grandfather Jeff Guillory said.

Xavier is a member of the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho. He grew up in Spokane, with frequent visits to family in Lapwai.

After a standout football and track career at Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, Xavier committed to Idaho State in 2020 and transferred to Arizona State in 2023. In five years, the wide receiver racked up 1,938 receiving yards on 134 catches.

Xavier’s late father, Raphael Guillory, pushed his son to be the best he could be. The two would go on five-mile runs, do sprints and work out together.

“I remember being like 9 years old and all of my cousins would be going swimming, horse-back riding, (and) he’d make me get up and go run ... before I could do any of that,” Xavier said.

“He wasn’t one of those dads that would make me do it and watch with his arms folded and his knees crossed — like, he was there actually working out with me. It was quality father and son time.”

However, his father never got to see him play college ball.

“He looks like him. He talks like him. He runs like him.”

In 2020, Xavier’s family, including his father Raphael, visited Pocatello to meet Idaho State’s football coaches.

Raphael was sick when he made the trip, but he got to see Xavier workout.

On Nov. 29, 2020, Raphael died after a long battle with cancer.

“He saw him work out, and then he died soon after,” Jeff said. “ It broke (Xavier). It literally broke him.”

Raphael was survived by his wife Gloria Guillory, their five children, his parents Jeff and Connie Guillory; and his three siblings.

In a time of loss, the Guillory family rallied around each other.

Xavier’s mom, Gloria, spent that winter making many eight-hour drives to Pocatello to be with her son.

Today, Xavier calls his mom two or three times a day.

“She’s my source of peace, where I can call and relax and confide in her,” Xavier said. “My mom is just my biggest supporter, my biggest fan, my best friend.”

Jeff made sure his grandson knew what Raphael wanted for him

“What his dad wanted most is for him to continue in his endeavors,” Jeff said he told Xavier. “To continue with his dream and be a good person and have a good name and do the best that he could without him.”

Xavier’s family is full of athletes, academics and people of faith. His grandfather played football for Idaho and spent time with the Dallas Cowboys. After holding several different positions post-football, he served as Washington State University’s Diversity Education Director from 1994 to 2019.

His father, Raphael, was the leading scorer on Lapwai’s legendary 1987-88 state championship team — part of a streak of 84 consecutive Wildcat victories. He was also a standout safety on Eastern Washington’s 1994 Big Sky Conference Championship football squad — a team enshrined in the EWU Hall of Fame.

He held a doctorate in education from WSU and for nearly two decades taught various psychology-related courses at EWU in Cheney.

Xavier’s cousins are athletes too and he grew up playing and competing with them, including winning the Lapwai-hosted “Play in your moccasins” basketball tournament. Xavier’s cousin, Titus Yearout, plays basketball for the Idaho Vandals.

Raphael, like his dad, Jeff, was a leader in his church and held a deep faith.

“They gave me the raw, real, uncut and unedited version of what it looks like to actually walk with the Lord,” Xavier said of his father and grandfather.

Xavier takes every opportunity to proclaim his faith and praise Jesus: in his postgame interviews, in touchdown celebrations and in his daily life, following in his father’s footsteps.

“He looks like him. He talks like him. He runs like him. I mean, the kid almost is a clone of his dad,” Jeff said. “It’s just unbelievable. When I hear his voice sometimes, I say ‘That’s Raphael.’

“It’s almost as though God said, ‘Okay, you’re Xavier, but I’m gonna put your dad’s spirit in you.’”

“He puts us on the map”

Xavier’s athleticism was clear, even in Pop Warner football.

“They had to hold him out as a 10-11-12-year-old because every time he touched the ball, he had a touchdown anywhere on the football field,” Jeff said. “He was head and shoulders above everybody else.”

Xavier participated in the track and field Junior Olympics, running national races.

In Pocatello, Xavier worked his way into a starting role, totaling 50 catches and 785 yards his junior year.

He transferred to Arizona State and found himself further down on the depth chart than he would have liked.

In his first year in Tempe, Xavier tore the ligaments in his foot which required surgery and prematurely ended his season.

The next year, he dealt with a lingering hamstring issue which hampered his production for a couple of weeks.

Nonetheless, Xavier persisted and soon found himself on ESPN.

Against BYU in November, Guillory took the top off the Cougar defense, caught the ball at the 25 and sprinted untouched into the end zone for the 61-yard score.

In the Big 12 Championship game versus Iowa State, he scored back-to-back touchdowns, including a 21-yard score that saw him contort his body — facing the ball with his chest as he took a couple of earth-shattering steps to send him firmly into the end zone.

He scored versus Texas in the College Football Playoff to total four touchdown catches in his last three games.

Jeff said Raphael would have called those “Xavier-wow moments.”

“If I would have quit halfway through the season just because I’m getting one target a game, I would have never gotten those opportunities,” Xavier said.

Xavier wore the Nez Perce tribal flag on the back of his helmet.

He brought up the idea to one of the ASU equipment managers, who was also of Native American descent. Xavier chose to wear the Nez Perce flag on his helmet to represent his culture and his people.

“It puts us on the map,” Jeff said of Xavier wearing the Nez Perce flag on his helmet. “And most native communities want to be known for something like that.”

There are a small number of Native American professional athletes, and those that do exist do not often get the spotlight.

Xavier looks up to several Native American athletes, including Jim Thorpe and Billy Mills, two legendary Olympic runners.

Xavier got the chance to talk to Mills in 2023 thanks to the efforts of his mom, Gloria, who connected with Mills’ wife on Facebook.

“Billy Mills said his dad told him, ‘People need to see you Billy, they need to hear your voice. They need to see you. You need to inspire,’” Gloria said Mills told Xavier. “I’m past my time, but now Xavier, they need to hear his voice. He needs to be out there. He needs to keep going.”

Xavier took Mills’ advice to heart and soon sought public speaking opportunities, especially with native youth in Arizona.

“Whatever the Lord blesses me with, I want to return that to my community,” Xavier said.

“I know what I can do”

In January, Xavier began training at X3 Performance and Physical Therapy, an NFL prospects’ facility in Fort Myers, Fla.

His days consist of various workouts and drills all in preparation for the Big 12 Pro Day on March 20 in Frisco, Texas, in which he will work out in front of NFL scouts.

The NFL draft is April 26-28. Xavier hopes to hear his name called or otherwise sign with a team.

He believes that he can not only earn a roster spot but also a starting role within a few years.

“I know what I can do,” Xavier said. “When I get the right opportunity, I know I can have a long-long career in the NFL.”

In whatever lies ahead for Xavier, he knows he can lean on the memory of his father and his faith.

Xavier’s college pregame routine began with a prayer on the 25-yard line, his father’s jersey number in college.

“I know he’s up in heaven cheering me on,” Xavier said. “He’s probably already seen my whole career played out. So he’s telling me to keep going.

“He’s always on my heart.”

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.