Jaden and Devin Voisin are entering their sixth seasons with the South Alabama football program, so teammates and coaches can tell them apart with ease.

Jaden — the Jaguars’ All-Sun Belt Conference safety — has a full beard and is a bit “thicker” around the torso than his 2-minutes-younger twin brother, who wears only a mustache/goatee combo. Devin — a third-year starter at wide receiver — also recently dyed his hair a shade of blonde, making him stand out from his brother even more.

But then Tyler Thomas (a defensive end) showed up on-campus this summer after transferring in from UAB, joining twin brother Trent (a tight end) to give the Jaguars two redshirt freshmen with nearly identical faces, physiques and shoulder-length curly black hair. Suddenly, people around the South Alabama football complex are once again seeing double — make that double-double.

The Voisins and the Thomases have helped the Jaguars achieve a rarity this season, having two sets of identical twins on the same team. And it’s led to some double-takes.

“I’ve gotten to where the Voisins aren’t even twins anymore to me,” head coach Major Applewhite said. “I can tell them apart. But the Thomases, I really have to look. ‘Is it a blue jersey (signifying offense in practice) or is it a red jersey (signifying defense)?’ You really have to take a minute and think about it.”

Having two sets of twins on one college team is not completely unprecedented, though it is certainly unusual. Here are a few previous examples we were able to unearth with some online research:

• From 2019-21, Gonzaga’s women’s basketball team had two sets of twins — Jenn and LeeAnne Wirth and Kayleigh and Kaylynne Truong. Three of the four started for a Bulldogs team that finished 23-4 and won the West Coast Conference championship in 2021.

• From 2016-20, Ohio University also had two sets of twins on its football team — tight ends Ryan and Adam Luehrman and cornerbacks Xavier and Ilyaas Motley. However, in the case of the Bobcats, the twin brothers each played the same position and on the same side of the ball.

• In 2018, Mississippi College, a Division III school, had THREE sets of twins, each of whom played different positions than his brother — running back Ja’Mori Mark and wide receiver Ja’Moz Mark, running back Cole Rotenberry and defensive back Turner Rotenberry and quarterback Detric Hawthorn and defensive back Derric Hawthorn. The arrangement lasted just one year because Ja’Mori Mark had redshirted and Ja’Moz had not, and thus had graduated by the next season.

Aside from each pair of brothers playing on opposite sides of the ball, South Alabama’s two sets of twins all have some similarities, Devin Voisin noted.

“It’s really cool when you think about it,” he said. “All of us are mixed (race) with thick curly hair. Both of us are one on offense, one on defense. I play receiver, my brother plays safety. One of them plays tight end, one plays defensive end. So we go against our brothers in practice a lot.

“They’re kind of the heavier-set version of us, like Voisin 2.0.”

The Voisin brothers signed with South Alabama out of Crestview (Fla.) High School way back in 2019, which was two coaching staffs ago. They followed older brother Keon, a freshman for the Jaguars in 2018 who later transferred to Division II power West Florida, finishing his career in 2022.

For a while, it seemed as if the Voisin twins’ South Alabama swan song would be 2023. Devin was recovering from a knee injury that cost him all but two games last season, while Jaden entered the transfer portal in December before ultimately deciding to return to the Jaguars.

Both are now sixth-year “super” seniors, and it’s possible they’re playing together for the last time this fall. Both will likely have a chance to play at the professional level, though Devin could apply for a medical redshirt and extend his college career an additional year.

“I’m hopeful for the future that maybe we get to play together again at the next level,” Jaden Voisin said. “But we’re going to enjoy the whole season. It’s a long season, so hopefully we can make the best of it. I’m really thankful for the whole ride we’ve had together.

“It’s been good to have a supportive partner by my side in my brother. He’s got his stuff going on the offensive side of the ball, I’ve got mine on the defensive side of the ball, but it’s all football. We know we’ve got each other’s back.”

Said Devin Voisin, “I’d like to think part of that his decision was us playing together again one more year. … I think him coming back, he’s like ‘You know what, I’ll play one more year with my brother. And it’s a great opportunity here with the Senior Bowl being right there, being the leader on defense, knowing the defense.

“It’s exciting, but the most excited people were my parents. They were ecstatic.”

Like the Voisins, Trent and Tyler Thomas were multi-sport stars in high school. They led Mobile’s Cottage Hill Christian to the playoffs in football and to the regional finals in basketball (their father, Adam, is the Warriors’ head basketball coach and athletics director).

Tyler was a first-team All-State pick in both sports, while Trent was first-team in football and second-team in basketball. Both had small-college offers in basketball, but soon decided their athletic future was likely brighter on the gridiron.

“We grew a lot every, so on all the teams when we were younger, we played the bigger positions,” Trent Thomas said. “But once we reached high school, we topped out at about 6-(foot)-5, 6-6. And nowadays, that’s the point guard. So we were a little too small to play basketball in college.”

Said Tyler Thomas, “We definitely miss it. We still try to play as much as we can.”

The Thomas twins were temporarily separated when Trent signed with South Alabama in the 2023 recruiting class and Tyler went some four hours up I-65 to UAB. Tyler (who is 60 seconds older than his brother) got on the field in four games for the Blazers as a true freshman in 2023, but like Trent was able to retain a redshirt year.

Tyler Thomas entered the transfer portal after 2024 spring practice, and was pursued by Applewhite’s staff more vigorously than the Jaguars had done under predecessor Kane Wommack. He officially joined the program in June, much to the relief of his family.

“It was hard leaving my family because we’re from here and then also leaving him,” Tyler Thomas said. “But I kind of wanted to get out and do it on my own. We’ve done everything together growing up, and it was different in a good way to not be attached to each other all the time. But at the same time, I’m glad to be back. … Still, I had to make sure I was making the decision for me and not just for my family.”

Said Trent Thomas, “Having that time apart was good for us, because it made us stronger. It made us closer when he came back to visit. But I’m definitely glad he’s back.”

Jaden Voisin is a preseason All-Sun Belt Conference pick this season and with defensive lineman Wy’Kevious Thomas (no relation to the Thomas twins) among the Jaguars’ steadiest defensive veterans. Devin Voisin has been participating fully in preseason practice, and is expected to re-assume his role as South Alabama’s go-to inside receiver in time for the 2024 opener vs. North Texas on Aug. 31.

Trent Thomas has been working with the first-team offense at tight end, taking the field in two tight-end packages alongside DJ Thomas-Jones. With several veteran defensive linemen ahead of him, the path to playing time for Tyler Thomas is not as certain this year, though he could work his way into the rotation as the season goes along.

But however it plays out, South Alabama in 2024 will be among those rare teams with twins two times over.

“It’s really interesting,” Trent Thomas said. “It’s unique.”

South Alabama is back on the practice field Friday morning. The Jaguars will scrimmage for the second time this preseason on Saturday morning at Hancock Whitney Stadium.