TAMPA, Fla. — Opposing high school football teams are seeing double when they take the field against Middleton High School.
“We have basically been playing all our life together,” Jay’Lan Hill said.
Jay’Lan and Ja’Von Hill are twin brothers. Jay’Lan is the star quarterback and Ja’Von is the star wide receiver.
“It’s even better for me playing quarterback because I am so used to throwing to him,” Jay’Lan told ABC Action News sports anchor Kyle Burger. “I know his speed. It’s easy for me to adapt to him especially when it comes to game situations. I know how he runs his routes."
“I know if he scrambles out and needs help, I’ll come over there to the side where he needs help,” Ja’Von added.
While they are identical twins, Jay’Lan is 13 minutes older. Which explains their jersey numbers. Ja’Von wears No. 12, and Jay’Lan wears No. 1.
“When they are on the field together, one who is the quarterback is always looking for his brother the receiver to the point where we have to tell him don’t look for your brother,” wide receivers coach Mario Reese said.
Even during practice, coaches have a hard time telling them apart.
“They call us ‘twin,’” Jay’Lan said. “They just say “twin,” like quarterback twin or receiver twin. They don’t know the difference either.”
The twins won’t be physically as close to each other next year. They both have a career part with the Army and then college.
“We want to go to different colleges because we’ve been together for so long,” Jay’Lan said. “We just need a break sometimes. I kind of got that when I went to basic training. Man, I miss my brother when I was gone.”
Middleton (3-4) will play at Durant on Friday night.
