Iowa LB Jay Higgins found both stardom and his best friend in college
Higgins and fellow linebacker Nick Jackson form dynamic duo on and off playing field
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins had to wait until his fourth year of college to meet his best friend, but it was well worth the wait.
When fellow linebacker Nick Jackson decided to transfer from Virginia, where he had played for four seasons, to Iowa for what Jackson thought would just be one season, that decision would have a huge impact on Higgins, both on and off the field.
The two have since become best friends off the field and arguably the top college linebacker tandem in the country on the field.
Higgins and Jackson combined for 281 tackles last season – the most by a Power Five tandem nationally.
In barely a year, they have gone from being strangers to friends for life who now share a mutual respect and admiration.
“He provides leadership, perspective and he’s a team guy,” Higgins said of Jackson. “I think if you ask anybody in the locker room about Nick Jackson you’ll get positive things. And obviously, that’s a testament to coach (Seth) Wallace and our recruiting staff.
“You really don’t know when you get a transfer, but the dude, he fit right in, a perfect match. My best friend. I didn’t know I was going to find my best friend my junior year.”
Higgins and Jackson are both among several key players on defense that chose to return to Iowa for one last season.
Higgins is entering his fifth season, while Jackson is entering a rare sixth season that was granted to him by an NCAA waiver.
Jackson was awarded a waiver for an extra year because his senior year at Virginia (2022) was cut short to 10 games after three football players were shot and killed when another student opened fire on a charter bus during a field trip.
“His choice to come back here was not something I think many people predicted,” said Assistant Head Coach Seth Wallace, who coaches the Iowa linebackers.
Jackson, who is from Atlanta, Georgia, was shocked when the NCAA granted him a sixth year of eligibility.
He ultimately decided after talking with his parents that returning to Iowa for another season was in his best interest.
“I’m big on if I make a decision, just stand on it,” Jackson said. “That’s kind of how it was during my recruiting to Iowa. I told them when I make a decision of where I’m going, you’re not going to have to worry about me de-committing or re-committing and all that stuff.
“When I say I’m going to do something, that’s what I’m going to do. I just thought about it and really prayed on it and just talked to my family, my mom and my dad. They were so supportive throughout the process.”
Higgins already had decided to return for his fifth season when Jackson was granted a waiver.
Of course, Higgins wanted Jackson to return, but he also gave Jackson time and space to make his decision.
Higgins didn’t want to nag or pressure Jackson into returning because he knew that approach might backfire.
Higgins had been around Jackson long enough to know that Jackson makes his own decisions based on sound judgement and research.
“With Nick, I knew how he makes his decisions, so I didn’t want to over-talk him,” Higgins said.
As it turns out, the decision was easy for Jackson because he loves being a Hawkeye and playing for Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz.
“Iowa has just been an insane experience,” Jackson said. “Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, I never learned, no offense to everyone, but I never learned about what Iowa was. It was just kind of like this place over there. So, then I came out here and it was kind of just wild. Honestly, it’s been one of the coolest experiences in my life. And it’s just one of those things I’ll get to tell everyone for 18 months of my life I got to live in Iowa.
“It’s just been such an honor. It’s just been so fun. These people are amazing, my best friends, love these guys. So, it’s just been awesome. I think honestly that was the biggest incentive, getting the opportunity to play with all the guys that came back. And we wanted to do something special.”
Jackson will forever get to enjoy and remember the best of both words as a Cavalier turned Hawkeye.
He enjoyed his experience at Virginia where he graduated with a business degree, and now he’s making the most of his limited time as a Hawkeye.
“I don’t think I ever planned when I went to college that I’d be in college for six years,” Jackson said. “I have friends from both schools that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
“I’m fortunate in so many ways.”
As a sixth-year player, Jackson often gets teased for being old.
“I get all the old jokes,” Jackson said. “I get them all. Every single day. God forbid I just walk and move my back around or something like that, and they’re like, ‘oh, that’s year six for you.’ And so I take a whole of of jokes for being in year six.”
The 23-year old Jackson has a chance to make history as he only needs 113 tackles to become the NCAA’s all-time leader in career tackles.
He finished last season with 110 tackles, so the record is well within reach, although, Jackson doesn’t dwell on it.
“I’m focused on just the team, honestly,” Jackson said. “I’m trying to win as many games as possible. I’m trying to do whatever I can to help this team win. It just shows you how old I am that I’m in that category.”
Jackson sometimes get reminded about his chance to make history on social media.
“I get tagged with it a couple times on Twitter,” he said. “But I think for the most part I just stay to myself and whatever is going to happen is going to happen throughout the season. I’m just trying to do whatever I can in practice to control the narrative. And that narrative is just to be focused on my team and help us as much as I can to win games.”
Jackson has been a Hawkeye long enough to understand why so many of the defensive players chose to return, even with the chances to make more NIL money at another school.
Iowa’s top five running backs also chose to return, which is unusual in this age of the transfer portal.
“It’s a true testament to our coaching staff,” Jackson said. “It’s a true testament to the fans. It’s a true testament to just Iowa, honestly. Our coaching staff headed by coach Ferentz is unbelievable, a Hall of Fame world-class coach. I mean, honestly, he is one of a kind. The little things, he’s there. He cares about every single person in the building. He just takes time out of his day to come greet you, to come talk to you. Just the little things. There’s nobody in the building that has more things going on than him, has more pressure than him or anything like that. Just the way he handles himself, the way he cares about us, the way he coaches us to be our best, it’s unbelievable. So, I think it all stars with him and that’s just the man you want to play for.”
Away from the football field, Jackson and Higgins like to relax by playing golf.
It’s fair to say that both of their games are a work in progress.
“We’ve been trying, two-man scrambles. We get pretty frustrated,” Higgins said. “We’re working on our golf conditioning. The front nine is okay. But we’re really working on that back nine. You know working on that conditioning.”
Higgins joked about trying to use their status as Hawkeye football stars to play golf for free as part of an NIL deal.
“I thought we’d come back and get free golf, sixth-year, fifth-year,” said Higgins, who is from Indianapolis. “But maybe when I come back for legacy events and alumni events. I thought we could get one. But they’d probably tell me I wasn’t good enough at golf.”
Higgins and Jackson are both highly respected as team leaders. Higgins makes it a point to help and mentor the younger players, much the same way former Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell helped him.
Campbell now plays for the Detroit Lions after having been selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
“I feel like when I got here as a freshman, Jack Campbell was a good leader for me,” Higgins said. “I imagine when he got there as a freshman, the guys in that room were the same for him. You kind of just grow up and when you grow up in a good program like this, it’s easy to replicate what you see done to you.
“I know what it’s like when an older guy wants to watch tape with you. I know what it’s like when an older guy tries to help you with technique and works with you after practice. So, now that I’m an older guy, I feel like it’s important that I do the same.”
Iowa will face Illinois State in the season opener on Aug. 31 at Kinnick Stadium.
For both Higgins and Jackson, it will mark the beginning to what they hope is a special season, a season that Jackson didn’t think he would get to experience.
“Even having the opportunity was such a shock last year that I couldn’t really even process it,” Jackson said. “I’m just very lucky and grateful to be in this position. I remind about that every day.”