IOWA CITY — The Iowa Hawkeye defense suffered a hit on paper over the offseason with the departures of linebackers Jack Campbell (Butkus Award winner, All-American, 1st-round draft pick by the Detroit Lions), Seth Benson (graduated with 258 career tackles and 13 TFL) and Jestin Jacobs (transferred to Oregon).
With the addition of graduate transfer Nick Jackson and the ascensions of senior leaders Jay Higgins and Kyler Fisher, though, nobody's panicking in Iowa City.
"The linebacker room is extremely competitive right now," Higgins said. "We have a good group of guys, we're all best friends off the field, and when we come out here for practice it shows. That chemistry helps us."
"The bonds that we've created during this fall camp — being in the hotel together, playing cards, hanging out — has really built this group," Fisher said.
"Those guys in there work and compete every single day," Jackson said. "That coach pours everything he has into us every single day. So I'm very thankful about being in that linebacker room right now."
Jackson is an immediate jolt for the group: a three-time All-ACC middle linebacker from Virginia who committed to Iowa as a graduate transfer in February. While Jackson is closer to Benson than Campbell in stature at 6'0" and 237 pounds, his productivity is unimpeachable: 354 tackles for the Cavs over 46 games played and 33 starts.
That extensive experience helped sell the Hawkeye coaches on the idea.
"The cupboard was not bare," linebackers coach Seth Wallace said. "I wasn't necessarily going out and pursuing [prospects in] the transfer portal. However, I knew bringing in someone with a lot of snaps under their belt was going to be a benefit for the room."
As has been seen on the other position units in the Hawkeye defense, positional versatility is key to having the most effective lineup on the field for each situation.
"Jay Higgins is the middle linebacker right now," Wallace said. "Nick [Jackson]'s repping there, has to rep there. If he was to take the field with the first group, [Jackson] is going to be at the Will position, Kyler would be at the Leo, and Jay would be at the Mike, but I have no problem flip-flopping those two interior guys."
While not unexpected, that last part is significant; having two capable, trustworthy middle linebackers is a remarkable asset for the Hawkeye defense.
"As a Mike backer, you need to be able to control the entire defense, and when guys look at you, they need to know everything's okay," Higgins said.
"Jay Higgins is a great leader," Jackson said. "He is instinctive and vocal. Working with him and building that camaraderie, on and off the field, has been a pleasure so far.”
Wallace also mentioned some other names that have flashed potential at linebacker.
"Jaden Harrell's had an excellent seven days up to this point," Wallace said. "Jaxon Rexroth has done a lot of good things. Karson Sharar, he's been banged up a little bit, but he's proven enough over the last two seasons that he deserves mention."
Higgins had one more name to add to the mix: "Keuter. I like [true freshman] Ben Keuter a lot. I'd try to wrestle him, but I think it's not smart to do that," he said with a laugh.
