After his second consecutive 110-plus tackle season, Iowa football’s Jay Higgins took home hardware as the top linebacker in the Big Ten. The senior earned not only first-team All-Big Ten honors from league coaches and media, but also the Big Ten’s Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year Award on Tuesday, the conference announced via social media.
An Associated Press preseason first-team All-American, Higgins lived up to the hype with 118 tackles, which ranked second in the Big Ten behind UCLA’s Carson Schwesinger and 13th in the FBS. In addition, Higgins recorded a career-high four interceptions –the best among Big Ten linebackers this season – to go along with five pass defenses, 2.5 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles.
Higgins is the third Hawkeye to earn the award, which was established in 2011 in honor of former Illinois linebacker Dick Butkus and Northwestern linebacker Pat Fitzgerald. Joey Jewell claimed the award in 2017, followed by Jack Campbell in 2022. The pair are now each in the NFL.
Hailing from Indianapolis, Higgins didn’t receive routine starts for three years as he backed up Campbell. After Campbell’s departure to the pros, Higgins shined as the replacement, tying the program single-season record in 2023 with 171 tackles. He is also the first Hawkeye to post back-to-back 100-plus tackle seasons since Campbell in 2021-22. Higgins’ 323 career tackles rank 17th in program history.
With no more years of eligibility remaining, Iowa’s upcoming bowl game will be Higgins’ last in the Black and Gold. He and fellow senior linebacker Nick Jackson each said they would participate.
Concluding a five-year career defined by patience, Higgins not only took advantage of his late opportunity but kept perspective. While he can call the Butkus-Fitzgerald Award his own, he is not a finalist for the Butkus Award as the top linebacker in the nation.
“If I played for the that committee, if that’s the reason I took the field, then I’d be pretty crushed,” Higgins told reporters about not being nominated for the Butkus Award. “I’m playing for my mom and dad, my girlfriend. I’m playing for everybody who believes in me. If those people tell me I’m a solid linebacker who’s not too bad, then I’m still happy.”