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March 24, 2017

CFL Combine | The Herdman Twins

REGINA – They look the same, sound the same, like the same food, watch the same TV shows, listen to the same music.

Justin and Jordan Herdman live together. They take the same courses at Simon Fraser University and play the same position – linebacker.

That won’t surprise anyone who knows the twins, products of Sturgeon Heights High School in Winnipeg, who have been side by side for most of their lives since being born two minutes apart on July 21, 1994.

But as the Canadian Football League Draft approaches – the National Combine wraps up Saturday here in advance of the May 7th selections – the Herdmans know that, barring a minor miracle, a split is coming.

“I think we’ve only been apart a week from each other and that’s when I went to the Senior Bowl in January,” began Jordan after Day 1 of testing at the National Combine on Friday.

“Yeah,” added Justin, “and I was texting him all the time, ‘How you doing?’ ‘Where are you?’ ‘Get to the airport safe.’

“We’re very close, but we’re both trying to pursue a professional football career so we understand it might take us in different directions. We’ll be able to manage.”

HERDMANS 2

The Herdmans are one of many players with intriguing back stories here at the combine. Not only are the Winnipeg twins top-rated prospects – Jordan was ranked 16th in the December rankings of the CFL Scouting Bureau; Justin was not in the Top 20 – but they are also the sons of a Blue Bomber alumnus: James Reed played three seasons in blue and gold, from 1979-81.

“I first came to Montreal in 1979 and when I got released there was a note on my door telling me (then Bombers GM) Earl Lunsford wanted me to come to Winnipeg,” Reed said in a chat with bluebombers.com. “I had some great times here in the CFL. I was finishing my playing days out in Canada (after trying out for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1978 and then spending parts of the 1984 and 1985 seasons in the USFL with the New Orleans Breakers and Washington Federals). It was a great journey. I enjoyed it all and enjoyed Winnipeg the most.

“After I was done we decided to stay here and raise a family.”

The Herdman boys – they took their mother Judy’s last name – first started playing football with the St. James Rods and then suited up for Sturgeon Heights. Their dad coached them when they wore Rods’ colours and has mentored them in the game, and about life, their entire lives.

“Defence was our thing right from the start,” said Justin. “It’s in our blood. We just naturally fell in love with defence.”

“Even to this day he’ll call me after games and give me tips of what he saw,” said Jordan. “He would give me tips. He’s always been our coach as well as our father figure.”

Not too long ago, Reed had a CD of some of his days with the Bombers given to him by a former teammate. Justin and Jordan have watched the clips countless times.

And asked for a scouting report of their dad’s game, they grinned.

“The film was awesome to watch,” said Justin. “It was when he was with the Bombers and we saw tape of him in the USFL, too.

“He was a sideline-to-sideline player who made plays all over the field. Fast, quick.”

“He was relentless,” added Jordan. “He was making plays all over the field. It’s similar to how we play. You can see the resemblance to how we play.”

Both Herdmans are Biomedical Physiology students at SFU and both want to enter the field of radiology. Both were named to the conference all-academic team. Both listed Baltimore Ravens legend Ray Lewis as the player after whom they try to model their games.

“I think it’s the twin thing again,” said Justin with a grin.

“We’re interested in the same stuff. We work out together, we live together, we eat the same meals.”

“This has been our dream for a long time. So, to see it now… it’s so close. We’re trying to enjoy the moment because before you know it it’s going to be over.”

Reed will allow himself to imagine the two of them staying together on a CFL team – “it would be something if they played together as part of a package deal” – but also knows the reality here.

“We know someday they might have to split,” said Reed, a hydrovac truck driver in Winnipeg. “Life is like that. They know that. I’m so proud of them. You know, they never missed a day of school and were honour-roll students every year.

“They’re very hard workers, I will tell you that. I’ve never seen kids so motivated to have success. They’re dream chasers. Hopefully their dreams come true for the two of them.”