CAP & JAP!! USC's Brinkley Twins

I read an article in ESPN Magazine (Double Takes, Sept. 24) about the Brinkley twins. 6'2", 257 LB Jasper (pictured right) and DE Casper, 6'2", 262 and older by one minute, play football for the University of South Carolina. The article was pretty standard, the bond twins share and quizzed them on how well they know each other. Each twin was asked questions separately and then they were brought back together compare answers. For the most part the guys were pretty accurate about surface stuff like favorite actor and dream date. There were 2 questions, however, that really got me. The first one was, What's the best thing your brother ever did for you? I guess it would be easy to talk about a great birthday present, or one pretending to be the other so he could make it with the other's girlfriend. (Yes I know, mind out of the gutter. But tell me you wouldn't try some very, very, very funny business if you had an identical twin!!) Instead, their answers were each about saving each other's lives. When they were younger, Jasper fell into a well and miraculously Casper came to his rescue and pulled him out. "Cap came and grabbed me and saved me. I would've died if it weren't for him." In their teens, Casper had a car battery explode on him, spraying all over his face. Jap sprang to his aid putting water on his face wiping the acid from his eyes. AAAAWWWW, how cute are they!!

The second question that stood out to me was when they were asked their biggest fears. Cap said he had no fears, while Jap said messing up his knee was atop his list of worries. "It seems like every person in their senior year gets hurt, and it's always the ACL." As you already know, I also have F.O.K. Yeah that's right a Fear of Knees, so I definitely feel him on that. So as per my usual Saturday, I plop myself in front of the TV and watch copious amounts of NCAA football. This past Saturday I watched a now 3-1 SC lose their first game, 28-16, against #2 ranked LSU. I was happy to get a look at the twins in action. Low and behold, Jap hurt his knee! He suffered a severe sprain in his right knee early in the game. How sick is that!?! His nightmare became a reality! He was injured on the Gamecocks second offensive drive in the 1st quarter. He attempted to come back later in the game wearing a knee brace, but realizing that his production was limited and the pain being too severe he finally left the game for good. Cap said at first his brother only thought he had a "little bump on the knee. But after the game he was in so much pain, he knew it was serious."

Jasper had successful surgery on Wednesday to reattach the separated ligament, and rehab for this type of injury/surgery is about 3 months. So yes, Jap is done for the season. He is the premier linebacker for the Gamecocks, and led them last year with 107 tackles, more than twice as many as the next leading defender. So far this season he's had 21 tackles, 15 solo, with 2 interceptions. Not only that, but before the season started Jap's name was on the watch list for the Lombardi & Butkus awards which are given to the best collegiate LBs. He is also the only SC player named in the preseason to the All-SEC first-team. Both brothers have been praised for their leadership skills, on and off the field. The sad thing about this situation is that the twins and a few other seniors came back this season to help lead SC to a championship year. With his 2007 season over, Jap is focused on plans for next year. No longer contemplating the 2008 NFL Draft, he plans to petition for a medical redshirt, which will allow him to play for SC next year. Cap had this to say about his bro's 2008 season, "He's dead set on coming back next year, fulfilling his whole season. He's very excited about having another chance to come back and play his whole year." This redshirt will give him another year of NCAA Football to show scouts and teams that his knee injury has no long lasting effects and he can still be a force in the NFL.

I like these brothers. I wish Cap all the best in his senior year, and Jap all the best with rehabbing. They've spent their whole lives together, in the same place at the same time. It'll be interesting to see how they both get along being separated.