It’s always pretty neat to have identical twins around. No, seriously–it is. The novelty of having identical twins on a roster can be a confusing thing at times for their coaches, but they also provide a pretty neat dynamic if they are both serious about their craft. They can be not one–but two–extensions of their coach, and they can often times police themselves before anybody else can.

Gaither is one of the few area schools with sets of identical twins on their team–Trentyn and Tray Jackson. The pair of 5-foot-10, 150-pounders are about to enter their final seasons for the Cowboys and will be expected to step it up big time on a defense that actually has loads of potential to completely erase last season’s 4-6 record.

Tray played at safety last season for Head Coach Jason Stokes, while Trentyn played on both sides of the ball for the Cowboys. Tray finished the season with 33 tackles–21 solo–with two QB hurries and three passes defensed while Trentyn carried the ball 19 times for 105 yards while catching four passes for 32 yards on offense in addition to his seven tackles, interception and two passes defensed.

“First of all–they’re very respectful kids–great kids,” said Stokes. “They’re very coachable–great teammates–great leaders–very mature. They do well in the classroom–they challenge themselves with AP classes and they’re able to balance it and I believe Tray even has a part-time job on top of all that. Tray runs track as well while Trent is with us during the entire offseason. They are super, super competitive kids and bring an energy that rubs off on the whole team. If someone is dogging it in practice–they’ll BOTH call that player on the carpet, so it’s really good to have them around just of the accountability factor for the team.”

As alluded to, it’s probably harder to tell them apart than it is to coach them up, which is a good problem to have. How does Stokes make sure he’s telling them apart correctly? Answer: go with what you know–the hair. “Tray MAY be a half-inch taller, but he has that high-top fade so that may be the only difference. Trent has the little baby Afro–so that’s how I tell them apart.”

The Cowboys will look to the pair to continue their development as they head into their senior seasons, with the prospect of added responsibility on both sides of the ball as well. Although Tray played at safety, his natural position is out on the island. “If you go by last year, that’s how it was–but this year we’re gonna try and move Tray to his natural position–which is corner and then they’re both gonna play that slot receiver for us well.”

While some of Gaither’s rivals down the road will be quick to point out the Cowboys shortcomings on the scoreboard, they don’t lack for the kind of talent it takes to turn last season’s results into a distant memory. Although their rivals got jokes at the moment, those jokes may find themselves on their own doorsteps if Gaither’s defense lives up to their potential. Stokes sees that same potential.

“God-wlling. Like I said, those kids are coachable and they’re going to be year into the program–more mature–and I mean athletically they have all the gifts and mentally last year was the first year on varsity, so they just had to get accumulated to it and I mean this offseason they’ve made strides leaps-and-bounds already. They listen to their coaches and they’re starting to get it–which means more confidence for them and quite frankly it’s rubbing off on everybody.”

Although Gaither’s record was 4-6, it wasn’t necessarily ALL on the defense since the Cowboys seemingly had more problems scoring the ball than they did stopping opposing offenses. Both units are connected in terms of their needs for improvement, but if the returning talent on the defense is any indication of what’s to come for Gaither in ’16, this season could look like the polar opposite as long as players like the Jacksons, along with standouts like Esefano Feliciano and Decalon Brooks continue to develop beyond just the gridiron.

“My best years playing and coaching was when we had kids that were like extensions of the coach on the field. Kids who spoke up and held kids accountable–simply put, it was with kids that understood how to hold people accountable. It wasn’t the teams with the best talent, it was the teams with the best leaders on them.”