Iowa football’s Nick Jackson was sitting outside the Hawkeyes’ practice facility when he heard a voice he knew all too well.
“You need a ride?”
That was the shout of teammate and fellow linebacker Jay Higgins from across the parking lot.
Jackson’s truck wouldn’t start that morning, so he was looking for a lift. Higgins was happy to provide one, but not without a little razzing first.
“You’ve got a degree but have no job and no car!” Higgins called out jokingly.
Such is the relationship between Jackson and Higgins, Iowa’s pair of starting linebackers this season. The former is a graduate transfer from Virginia in his first season with the Hawkeyes while the latter has been donning the Black and Gold for four years. Such a difference didn’t stop the duo from bonding, becoming roommates, and blossoming on the field as Iowa’s top tacklers.
When Jackson first arrived on campus for his official visit, Higgins was one of the first people he met. After spending the summer living with Hawkeye defensive linemen Yahya Black and Jeremiah Pittman, the fifth-year was looking for a place to stay during the school year. According to Jackson, Higgins didn’t provide much of a choice.
“Jay told me I was going to live with him, and I was like, ‘Alright,’” Jackson recalled. “I don’t know what the house looks like, I don’t know what my room looks like.”
In spite of the uncertainty at first, Jackson’s living situation has “all worked out.” The Atlanta, Georgia, native lives upstairs while Higgins resides below. But a whole floor of separation doesn’t keep the pair apart for long.
“He’ll just come upstairs and randomly barge into my room, and I’ll be like, ‘What’s going on?’” Jackson said of Higgins. “He’s like, ‘I need your flip-flops, I’ve got to go outside.’”
Jackson explained how there’s never a dull moment living with Higgins, whom he described as quite the jokester. Along with his funny personality, Higgins also makes plenty of noise from downstairs.
“You’ll just hear him scream and you’re like, ‘What’s going on down there?’” Jackson said.
Higgins excused this commotion as a byproduct of him watching tape, especially of trick plays from the Hawkeyes’ opponents that target Higgins’ position at Mike Linebacker. For the Indianapolis, Indiana, native, being loud is just his way of remembering those gadget plays.
On the road, the duo of linebackers spend their time on Friday nights before game day watching ACC football games, including Jackson’s former team. During the broadcast, the pair will analyze the televised teams’ offensive formations and make checks and calls as if they were actually in the game.
Such practice seems to be paying off, as Jackson and Higgins are what Hawkeye safety Xavier Nwankpa calls “one of the best linebacker duos” he’s seen. Through the Hawkeyes’ first five games, the pair have combined for 106 tackles, three quarterback hurries, and three forced fumbles.
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz described Jackson, who earned Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week against Michigan State, as mature and intelligent. Now on his fourth career defensive coordinator in Iowa’s Phil Parker, Jackson has had to adjust a lot from season to season.
“Learning systems is difficult, and then learning personalities, there’s a lot more that goes into it than just learning the plays,” Ferentz said of Jackson’s journey. “There’s a challenge there, but he’s also equipped to better handle the challenges. With each week you see him more confident and more decisive in his actions.”
Jackson upholds that same appreciation toward his fellow linebacker. No matter how much time the pair spend together, or how many jokes they trade with each other, there’s no love lost between the two.
“He’s just doing an unbelievable job,” Jackson said of Higgins. “I think every day he comes in, it’s just a tribute to him, his preparation every single day, and just making plays every single week. I’m really proud of him.”
