Jay Higgins, Nick Jackson building a strong relationship on and off the field

It has only been a couple of months since Virginia transfer linebacker Nick Jackson arrived on campus at Iowa via the transfer portal. Despite that, he has wasted no time becoming best friends with linebacking mate Jay Higgins. He first met Jay at his official visit during the winter, but their relationship has blossomed since his move to Iowa City. That includes a trip to the CoralRidge Mall movie theater to watch Transformers.

“Jay and I, we didn’t have anything to do and we’re just like, “what can we do right now?”, so we just went to the movies,” said Jackson. “We went over there and we got tickets to Transformers and we sat down almost like a date. It’s just me and him eating some popcorn. I think we might have shared a large or something like that. We just sat there watching Transformers, killed two or three hours.”

“Feel like I’ve known him for years. I don’t know how it happened. I met him on my official, but we weren’t really tight. Then when I got here, he took me in and I’ve only known him for really like two months, but it feels like I’ve known him for years.”

When it comes to their off the field relationship, things have been going swimmingly and it has translated over to the practice field where the Hawkeyes are currently eight days into fall camp. When they take the field for the season opener on September 2nd against Utah State, the expectation is that Higgins and Jackson will be playing side by side at mike and weakside linebacker.

“Jay Higgins is the middle linebacker. Nick is repping there. Has to rep there, just like other guys have to rep there that might be pegged into another position,” said linebacker coach Seth Wallace. “You’ll see him (Nick) if he takes the field with the first group, he’s going to be at the Will position…I have no problem flipping those two interior guys.”

The two linebackers have taken different paths to the starting linebacker spot at Iowa. Out of Atlanta, Georgia, Nick Jackson opted to go to Virginia as a three-star recruit. He spent four years there, including three as a starter, before opting to come to Iowa as a graduate transfer. Jay Higgins was a three-star recruit out of Indianapolis and has spent his entire career with the Hawkeyes.

With the departures of Jack Campbell and Seth Benson to the NFL, the defense is under a bit of a leadership change. Last year it was the All-American Campbell calling the defense and now that role has been handed off to Jay Higgins, who is set to make just his third career start when the season opener rolls around.

“I just want to make sure I’m accountable. I want guys to be on the field knowing that things will be ok because I’m out there and I want guys to know that they can depend on me,” said the fourth-year man out of Indianapolis. “Going into a leadership role, I feel like it’s my job to really support the defense, and help this defense maintain the standard that it’s been playing at.”

Although Higgins saw just 164 snaps at linebacker last year, he has taken the same path that every other linebacker at Iowa takes before they see the field as a starter on the defense. That path being one that has them cut their teeth in the college game on punt and kick coverage. During his freshman year in 2020, 39 of his 55 snaps came on special teams. As a sophomore in 2021, 175 of his 214 snaps came on special teams. Even last season when he got a couple of starts at linebacker, Jay still played 133 snaps on special teams.

“I feel like it’s a great way for young guys just to understand what accountability means out there (on the field) and then that game speed. I feel like the crossover between special teams and running down on kickoff, if you can run down on kickoff and hit something, you’ll be all right the rest of the football game,” said Higgins. “Coach Wallace always talks about increasing your value and last year my role was just to help the team when guys are injured in the linebacker room and then help the team special teams wise and obviously special teams are a big part of why we are successful here.”

Now, after his spending his time doing the dirty work on special teams waiting for his opportunity to lead the defense, the time has come for Jay to takeover the middle linebacker role for the Hawkeyes.

“As a mike linebacker, you’ve just got to be able to communicate and you’ve got to be able to communicate on and off the field and put yourself in front at all times. You can’t show show up some days and other days you don’t show up, so I just want to make sure I’m extremely consistent and staying out in front.”

As for Nick Jackson, he isn’t your average transfer. He is a top-of-the-line linebacker that played in 46 games and was a three-year starter at Virginia. Jackson is a three-time All-ACC selection and put up three straight years with 100+ tackles, including 19 tackles for loss. Despite being a veteran in terms of experience on the field, he is a newcomer to the Hawkeyes and still learning the Phil Parker system.

“The scheme isn’t the same (as UVA). There’s a lot of similarities within football, but I think in general I’m just trying to learn every single day,” said Jackson. “There’s some different things within the scheme that’s different from UVA and there’s some different terminology that you’re just getting adjusted to.”

Higgins doesn’t quite have the same on the field experience that Jackson has. He has made 329 less tackles, played in 15 less games and made 31 less starts. What he does have, is experience in the Phil Parker system and experience with linebacker coach Seth Wallace. Higgins has been somewhat of a guide for Nick Jackson, as he continues to learn the ins and outs of the always tough Phil Parker defense.

“I’ve been in the system for four years and Coach Parker’s defense looks simple to the outside, but obviously we’ve got some things going on, on the inside,” said Jay Higgins. “I’m just trying to communicate everything that I know. Everything I need him to know and really just how our defense is.”

The combination of Jackson and Higgins works well together. Jay can share his experience with the Iowa system to help Nick along quicker, while Nick can share the knowledge he has built up over three seasons as a starting linebacker.

“Jay is a great player. I’ve seen that from him every single day. He’s got unbelievable talent and I think it’s going to be super cool to mix and marinate ourselves together,” said Jackson. “He has so much knowledge within this defense and he’s helping pour that into me on what I can look for. I have some experience and I’m just helping him with how it is playing a game week in, week out. I’m really excited for the opportunity to play next to him.”

Higgins and Jackson have big shoes to fill, after the season that Jack Campbell and Seth Benson had last season. Now those two are playing for the Lions and Broncos, while Jay and Nick take over in the Phil Parker defense. Neither of them are focused on being the next Campbell/Benson duo. They are focused on trying to continue the standard of the Iowa defense.

“When you look at Jack Campbell and Seth Benson, those are two unbelievable players. They left their legacy and they are some dudes,” said Jackson. “(I) try not to compare ourselves to those guys because they are some all-time greats, but just come in and work every single day and make the most of our opportunity.”