As Nate Sudfeld walked out of the tunnel at StubHub Center in Carson, California, on Sunday afternoon for warmups, the Eagles fans that had congregated near the entrance began to go wild.
"Nick! Nick! Hey, Nick Foles!"
Sudfeld, with an Eagles cap tucked down tightly on his head, didn't stop walking. The Eagles' practice squad quarterback stared straight ahead, wearing a little smirk on his face and slightly shaking his head.
"I'm not Nick," he mouthed.
Honest mistake. It happens all the time.
Foles is still beloved by many Eagles fans for his magical 27 touchdown, two interception season as well as his seven-touchdown game in 2013. Sudfeld has found that out over the last month because the resemblance between the two is — at times — uncanny.
They're both tall, lanky white dudes with dirty blonde hair, who have matching mannerisms and personalities. There's not a mirror between their two lockers at the NovaCare Complex but plenty of people think there might as well be. Since Sudfeld arrived in Philly just before the start of the season many of his new teammates have taken to calling him "Nick's little brother" or "Nick 2.0."
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"They look the same, their build is the same, their personality is the same," said Carson Wentz, who shares a quarterback room with the two. "They're very similar. I don't get them mixed up but I do call them little bro and big bro. We noticed it right away."
Wentz might not get Foles and Sudfeld mixed up, but fans are a different story. Sunday in California was not the first time Sudfeld was mistaken for Foles and it will likely not be the last.
Before the game against the Chiefs in Kansas City a few weeks ago, the same thing happened. Sudfeld was walking onto the field when a group of overzealous fans began to shout Nick's name.
"It's not me," Sudfeld responded. "They were like 'seven touchdowns! Seven touchdowns!"
That's when Sudfeld began a game of internal tug-of-war. On one hand, he knew darn well he wasn't Nick Foles. But on the other, he didn't want the group of fans to leave Arrowhead Stadium that day thinking, "Nick was a bad guy."
So Sudfeld did the only thing he could think of. He sauntered over to the group of fans and began signing their memorabilia. ... As Nick Foles.
"I thought that was pretty funny," said Foles, who found out from Sudfeld later. "I thought that was pretty good."
Inside the locker room, confusion doesn't exist among their teammates. They can all tell them apart; it's not like they're identical twins or anything. Aside from one time where a reporter thought Foles had taken over Sudfeld's locker, there haven't been any cases of mistaken identity.
There has, however, been plenty of ribbing from teammates.
When asked which teammate enjoys bringing up their similar looks the most, neither Sudfeld nor Foles took very long to decide. It's the Eagles' longest-tenured player. Brent Celek has seen hundreds of players come and go, but probably never two who looked this similar, including Chase Daniel and Jon Dorenbos.
"Yeah, mostly Celek," Sudfeld said. "He gives me a lot of flack about it."
"Celek," Foles said without hesitation. "Go interview Celek. Celek would be a great interview."
OK, then. Off to talk to Celek, who took a moment from scrolling through his iPhone while sitting by his locker, to listen to the question before rubbing his eyes and laughing.
Guilty as charged.
"All three of us joke around a lot together," Celek said. "They're funny dudes, man. I really like both of them a lot. They both have similar personalities, they look similar. It's just funny."
Celek had heard stories about fans mistaking Sudfeld for Foles but it wasn't until Thursday when he learned Sudfeld once impersonated Foles before a game and even signed a few autographs in character.
"That's funny," Celek said. "They do look really similar. It's really eerie how similar they look, their mannerisms. And they're like best friends."
That's true too. While Foles is 28 and Sudfeld won't turn 24 until Saturday, the two have become very close over the last month. In fact all three of the Eagles' quarterbacks seem to have a tight relationship.
Sudfeld first met Foles on the University of Arizona campus in 2011. At the time, Foles was getting ready to enter his senior season as the Wildcats' starting quarterback when a high school junior came into the weight room for a brief chat. While Sudfeld ultimately ended up playing college ball at Indiana after some coaching changes at Arizona, he was once committed to become a Wildcat and met Foles on campus.
Sudfeld remembers that day well. Foles remembers it "vaguely."
"He was a young recruit," Foles said. "I remember a tall lanky kid and obviously it's Nate. He went on to have a great career at Indiana, which is awesome."
Foles called Sudfeld a great quarterback and an even greater person. All resemblance aside, Foles considers Sudfeld to be like a brother.
But there's just no setting this resemblance aside. It's hard to ignore.
Sudfeld understands that he and Foles are the same height (6-6) with similar builds and hair color, but doesn't see the likeness in their faces. Still, he understands how fans can get confused.
Big bro agrees.
"It definitely looks like we could be related, like brothers or something," Foles said. "Can't deny that."