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July 21, 2024

“It’s like being next to yourself”: Herdman-Reed twins turn 30

Thirty years ago today, Jordan Herdman-Reed did some scouting for his twin brother, Justin.

“I came out first, made sure it was all good, and told him to come out next,” Jordan says with a laugh.

Justin, who is two minutes younger, offers a different scenario.

“Maybe I slept in and he beat me to it,” he says.

“It’s all good, though. I was right behind him.”

They have been beside each other ever since — to the extent that they are both linebackers with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Today is an off day for the Green and White — and a momentous day for the Herdman-Reeds, who plan to celebrate their birthdays by going out for dinner with their girlfriends.

Considering that Jordan is slightly older, will back-to-back renditions of Happy Birthday be sung to honour the rapid-fire arrivals?

“They’ll just do it once,” Jordan says, “but I get the first piece of cake because I’m two minutes older.”

The Herdman-Reeds were born on July 21, 1994 in Winnipeg, where their father (James Reed) was, of course, a linebacker with the Blue Bombers in 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1983.

James also played in the CFL with the Montreal Concordes (1983), Toronto Argonauts (1985) and, yes, Saskatchewan (1985).

In just three games with the Roughriders, Reed registered two interceptions.

“We’re like triplets,” Justin says, “because he looks exactly like us, too.”

Both brothers are honoured to carry their parents’ surnames.

“Our mom’s name is Judith,” Justin adds. “We’re all J’s — Judith, James, Jordan, Justin.”

From the outset, James and Judith instilled in their twin sons the importance of education.

“That allowed us to get scholarships, which helped out a lot as well,” Justin says. “Football was always second to the academic side.”

As evidence to that effect, the twins both earned degrees in biomedical physiology at Simon Fraser University and, at one point, were considering going into medicine.

Instead, they pursued careers in the CFL and became registered kinesiologists.

“In the off-season, we both train kids,” Jordan says. “We have a training business. He does it. I do it.

“It’s funny. We’re identical twins and we still do the same, even to this day.

“Even at 30, we’re still doing the same thing.”

With the same team.

Post-university, the Herdman-Reeds have been teammates for three seasons — with the Roughriders in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

Justin and Jordan spent their first three seasons of professional football (2017 to 2019) with the Argonauts and B.C. Lions, respectively.

After COVID-19 resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season, the twins both signed with Saskatchewan as free agents on Feb. 9, 2021.

Justin has been here ever since. Jordan rejoined the Roughriders on Feb. 13 after playing for the Calgary Stampeders in 2023.

“Getting to play together for another year was huge for us and we wanted to make that happen,” Jordan says.

“It’s nice being able to be around each other on our birthday, because last year we were in separate places.”

If nothing else, that did ease the confusion that inevitably results from trying to tell them apart.

But there are ways in which it can be done.

A small birthmark on the left side of Justin’s face is invaluable to the process of differentiation.

“That’s the Number 1 thing people go for — the dot on the cheek,” he says. “I kind of let people know that when you dot your I’s, Justin has the dot.

“It’s easy, right?”

Well …

“It always takes a while,” says Head Coach Corey Mace, who uses the birthmark and the brothers’ tattoos to tell them apart. “If they’ve got their jerseys on, it’s always easy.

“If one was maybe not so nice, it might be easier, too, but they’re both excellent human beings. That can make it tough on you, but I enjoy spending time with both of them.”

The tattoos can also be a tell. Jordan has ink engraved in his right arm. Justin’s tattoo is on the left arm.

“But if we have a sweater on or sleeves, it’s very difficult,” Jordan notes, “so you’ve got to go with the mark on the cheek.”

Because the differences are borderline undetectable, cases of mistaken identity are routine.

“It happens every day,” Jordan says. “I think there are some guys in the locker room who are still having a tough time trying to figure it out.

“But we kind of have different personalities a little bit, so once you’re around us for long enough, you kind of figure those things out.”

Justin is “a little quieter,” in the words of Jordan.

Justin describes himself as “a little more serious.”

Jordan is, in the assessment of his twin, “a little more talkative,” although both of them were happy to chat in expansive fashion for a story that celebrates their mutual milestone birthdays.

The foundation of it all is a closeness that isn’t strictly applicable to the fact that they were born just two minutes apart.

“The biggest advantage of having a twin is that you’ve got a best friend who’s around you 24/7,” Justin says. “We never get sick of each other. It’s like being next to yourself.

“We have all the same things we enjoy doing together — the same favourite stuff, the same interests. It’s just a great experience.

I’m very thankful to have him for a brother.”

And a sidekick. But, down the road, might their lives evolve to the point where their careers or locations differ?

“We’ve been together our whole lives,” Justin responds. “I don’t think it’s going to stop anytime soon.

“A lot of people say, ‘You guys should try different things,’ or try to separate us a little bit, but that’s not going to happen.

“We’re stuck together. If you see one of us, you can guarantee the other one is right around the corner.”