Inside the CFL: Philpot brothers carrying family legacy

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on October 9, 2025.

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For Jalen Philpot, life in football has always been a family affair.

His dad Cody played in the CFL from 1993-2000 with B.C. and Winnipeg. He won the Grey Cup in 1994 with the Lions. He was the division rushing champion twice and a CFL All-star in 1995. After retiring from the Bombers he and his wife Colleen Purcell returned to the Lower Mainland where he has been a long-time junior football coach.

Twenty-five years ago, twin boys arrived. Their dad enrolled them in football at age six. Early on they followed in their father’s footsteps as running backs. In high school they switched to receiver.

Both attended the University of Calgary.

“Dad left it to us. We tried to go down South but opportunities weren’t really there. We met with the coaching staff at U of C. We thought Calgary would provide the best opportunity for us to play professional football.”

Considering they won the Vanier Cup in 2019 it was a good choice.

Jalen is extremely proud of his father’s career.

“Yes,” he enthused. “I got to watch a lot of film when I was a little kid. To see him be successful and win a championship in the CFL inspired me to have dreams and aspirations to play in the league and win a Grey Cup at some point.”

His younger twin, by seven minutes, Tyson has already achieved that goal. Drafted ninth by Montreal, Les Alouettes won the Grey Cup in 2023 and he was named the game’s Most Outstanding Canadian. Fifth pick Jalen’s development was slowed when he had surgery in May, 2023 to repair a hamstring injury he suffered during an off-season workout and missed the entire season. He bounced back last year and signed a two year deal paying him $185,000 for 2025.

Like most twins they are lose but rivals as well. “Yes, we’re very close. We talk all the time. Before playing Montreal, we talked the night before but come game day we’re enemies. We’re both trying to see our team win.”

The biggest adjustment going from the Dinos to the CFL has been “playing with my eyes. Coverage is pretty similar but teams like to disguise stuff and kind of make stuff look like something and then change out of it. So it’s just really slowing down and playing with my eyes.”

His major talent?

“For me, I pride myself on yards after a catch. So anything thrown to me whether it’s a long ball or short, I pride myself on making the first guy miss me, you know, the guy covering me and trying to get the most yards, rather than bringing me down right away.”

His dad has been a big help.

“A big part about growing up was we’d always ask him a bunch of questions and he’d tell us what it was like for him. Originally I was a running back so I learned a lot from him. At this point in our careers, he’s just always there for support when we need it. He tells us he believes that we are better than when he was playing.”

Jalen was able to take his hamstring injury and surgery in stride.

“It was the first time I dealt with a major injury. It kind of showed me the reality of post-football and life without football. There were pros and cons to it, mostly con, obviously- it was my second year and I really wanted to be out there. The pro was it showed me what life after football is. It allowed me to get into the community more (he volunteers at Alberta Children’s Hospital), meet some people and talk to them about what life after football might be like.”

After an 8-3 start, Calgary has lost four in a row. “Nobody has sounded the alarm yet but this is a huge game coming up.” (at B.C.)

How about a Calgary/ Montreal Grey Cup?

“That would be awesome for me. I think my mom might not like that much. She tends to get a bit stressed when we play each other. But for my brother and I that would be really cool.”

Considering they lost that huge game, a more likely scenario would have Calgary crossing over to face Tyson and the Alouettes in the Eastern semifinal on Nov. 1.

Graham Kelly has covered the CFL for the Medicine Hat News for 53 years. Feedback for this column can be emailed to sports@medicinehatnews.com.