Simon Fraser linebacker Jordan Herdman a master of time management

Jordan Herdman has become a master of time management.

The six-foot-two, 231-pound Simon Fraser middle linebacker has been the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s top defensive player the past two seasons. What’s more, the Winnipeg native is carrying a lofty 3.99 grade-point average in biomedical physiology kinesiology, leading all football players on the GNAC’s all-academic squad.

Herdman’s GPA is out of a possible 4.33, with the average undergraduate grade for his major being 2.7. But such excellence comes at a price, namely a lot of nights burning the midnight oil.

“It’s very exhausting and tough,” Herdman said during a telephone interview. “You’ve just got to be very disciplined in time management and make sure you’re focused on getting those things that need to be done finished on time.”

Herdman’s day typically begins at 5:45 a.m. to make Simon Fraser’s 7 a.m. football practice. After the two-hour session, Herdman has about 30 minutes to make the first of his two morning classes.

After a two-hour break, Herdman is off to a two-hour lab that begins around 1:30 p.m. When class is over, Herdman hits the gym at 5:30 p.m., arriving home around 8 p.m. After dinner, he’s back in the books until about 1 a.m. before retiring.

Herdman’s semester ends next month but he won’t get a reprieve. He plans to take summer classes through to August before resuming a full academic/football workload in September.

And Herdman won’t necessarily be finished studying upon graduation. He’d like to attend medical school and study radiology while also chasing a pro football career.

Herdman is eligible for the 2017 CFL draft but also wants to pursue NFL opportunities.

Herdman — whose twin brother, Justin, is also an SFU linebacker carrying a 3.55 biomedical physiology GPA — was a finalist for last year’s Cliff Harris Award, given annually to the top U.S. small college defensive player.

“I’d love to play in the NFL, that’s always been my dream but I definitely want to try to pursue a pro career,” he said. “I’d like to do both (med school and football) but I’d probably have to see just how demanding football was at the time.

“I think about it (pro football career) all the time.”

Jordan Herdman is two minutes older than Justin but the two are inseparable. The brothers come by their football prowess honestly as their father, James Reed, was a former NFL, USFL and CFL linebacker.

Jordan Herdman wears No. 57 while his six-foot-one, 233-pound brother dons No. 48, numbers their father wore when he played.

“They’re very special human beings and if people could spend a day in their shoes and see the way they approach life, they’d see that,” SFU football coach Kelly Bates, a former CFL offensive lineman, said of the Herdmans. “They have the grades that if they don’t wish to play professional football they’ll both be doctors . . . their time management skills are amazing.

“When I speak to schools I use them as our prototype of people you want to aspire to be like. If my daughters were of dating age I’d ask they find two men like that.”

However, Bates finds it hard telling the brothers apart.

“Right now, Jordan’s hair is a little longer and Justin has a little birthmark on his face that tips it off for me,” he said. “Otherwise, I really couldn’t tell you.

“They go everywhere together, they’re never apart, they work out together, their schedule at school is the same, they both want to be radiologists. They’re quite impressive.”

Jordan Herdman’s top individual goal this season is winning a third straight defensive player award but would gladly relinquish that achievement for more team wins. Simon Fraser was 0-9 last season and has managed just five victories the last three years.

“I’d just like us as a team to do better overall,” Herdman said. “That’s what I’d like to see, hopefully help turn this program around a little bit.”

A stadndout middle linebacker. Herdman says could play outside linebacker or even safety at the pro level. Special teams wouldn’t be a problem, either, as he covers punts and kickoffs at SFU.

Herdman definitely knows his way around a weightroom (27 reps of 225 pounds in bench press) and feels with consistent training he could get his 40-yard dash time under 4.7 seconds.

“I feel my strength is there and I’m quick,” Herdman said. “At the next level I think I have to focus on things like technique because I feel I have the hustle, effort and strength.”

Herdman’s good study habits also extend to the filmroom.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s how to be a student of the game,” he said. “It has helped me grow as a player.”

Simon Fraser plays in the NCAA under American rules but Herdman said he could easily re-adjust to Canadian football if the CFL beckons.

“I’ve always loved Canadian football,” Herdman said. “I love football in general so I could make the transition.”