Jay Higgins ready to learn the ropes at Iowa

As the only linebacker recruit in his class, Jay Higgins has already hit the ground running as he begins to learn the ropes from Coach Seth Wallace and company in Zoom meetings this month. We caught up with the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Higgins to discuss his upcoming freshman year at Iowa, what he is doing to get ready for college, and much more.

Q: What have you been up to the past two months as far as day to day life during the pandemic?

HIGGINS: Ever since they started going on lock down and closing everything, I’ve just been working out every day with a couple buddies. Whether that’s finding a field or running in the neighborhood or anywhere we can go, we just try to get some work in. Honestly, at this point, all I’ve been doing is online classes and working out. That’s all I really can do.

Q: What are you able to do as far as weightlifting?

HIGGINS: I’ve got a barbell and 25 pound plates, so I just try to get creative and use that different ways. Then I’ve been doing a lot of push-ups and a lot of body weight stuff.

Q: Are your online classes just about wrapped up now as far as high school?

HIGGINS: Yep, I’m done now. They pushed our graduation day back to July 9, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to attend, but other than that I’m ready to go to Iowa.

Q: What have you heard on that front as of right now?

HIGGINS: Right now, I think we can still move in June 13 or 14 until they tell us something different. Coach Bell has been telling us it’s better to be prepared than unprepared, so I’m just preparing as if I’m still moving in then.

Q: Coaching wise, who are you talking with the most right now?

HIGGINS: Mostly Coach Wallace. We have position meetings on Zoom three times a week, but since I’m done with classes now I can start joining the rest of the linebackers with position meetings more often. This week, the players were all taking finals, so it was a lot of one on one time with just me and him.

Q: So you have already done some meetings with the other linebackers and will be doing more of those now going forward?

HIGGINS: Yeah. I had a couple meetings with some of the other linebackers like Niemann, Doyle, Benson, and Jacobs. I was able to sit in with that group and just listen to the guys talk and get a feel for their understanding for the game, but starting Tuesday it will be the entire linebacker corps.

Q: Do you just kind of try to soak it all in being the younger guy?

HIGGINS: Yeah. It’s a different experience being a freshman and learning the plays, but luckily there are a lot of linebackers there that have played a lot of football, so they can help me out.

Q: Are they looking for you to play middle linebacker, weakside linebacker, or trying to learn both coming in?

HIGGINS: We should know every linebacker position and honestly every position on the field as well, but Coach Wallace has said mostly MIKE linebacker.

Q: Is that kind of where you have always played coming up?

HIGGINS: Yeah, I’ve always been a MIKE. Honestly, I’ve never really played anywhere else, so it comes pretty natural to me. That’s what I know how to do.

Q: Whenever it ends up being, what are you looking forward to when you arrive to campus?

HIGGINS: I just can’t wait to start lifting with Coach Doyle. Just transforming my body and becoming one of the big-time players who were under-recruited and came to Iowa, kept his head down and went to work. I can’t wait to begin that whole process.

Q: Height and weight wise, where are you at coming in your freshman year?

HIGGINS: I’m 6-2 and 210 pounds. They want me to come in at 210, so I’ve just been staying at this weight, but I can easily get bigger.

Q: Have you found out what number you are wearing in college?

HIGGINS: Yeah, I’ll be #34.

Q: Does that suit you well? You were #44 in high school I think.

HIGGINS: Yeah, that’s good. Seth Benson has #44 already, so I was looking with Deontae Craig at some of the different numbers available. I like #34. I think it’s smooth.

Q: How much does it help you coming in this year with Deontae, who you already know pretty well?

HIGGINS: Yeah, we talk probably every day. We talk about different plays and quiz each other. The funny thing is there’s so much to learn that I’ll ask him some vocabulary words for the defense and he won’t know, and then he’ll ask me about some of the ones he’s learned and I won’t know. It’s just fun to learn with each other.

Q: Are you two rooming together at Iowa?

HIGGINS: Yeah.

Q: How far back do you guys go? Back to AAU basketball when you were little kids right?

HIGGINS: Yep. Our first time playing against each other was in third grade. He was really good, so we added him to our team and I’ve been playing AAU basketball with him ever since. We always connected closely. You’re friends with everybody on the team, but you always have a couple special bonds.

Q: Your dad was actually coaching you two when you started out right?

HIGGINS: Yeah. My dad started coaching when I was little and then when things got a little more serious he kind of backed away so he could watch more.

Q: Did your basketball season end up getting cut short this year?

HIGGINS: Yeah. We were on a pretty good run and up to regionals. At first, they said we could play with just players and a couple fans, then it went to no fans and then it went to pushing the date back, but then after a couple weeks they cancelled the season. It was tough because if we would have lost and our season was over after that, it would have been okay, but just knowing that we were still winning and suddenly it’s over was kind of hard.

Q: Overall, what is that feeling like for you just wrapping up high school sports and your whole senior year in such a strange way?

HIGGINS: It was tough, but honestly I was ready to get going with Hawkeye football. I had a hard time with it at first, but the next day I dusted off my cleats and went to work to start getting ready for college football.

Q: Looking ahead, what is the feeling going to be like for you running out of the tunnel at Kinnick Stadium for the first time as a player?

HIGGINS: It’s honestly going to be a dream come true. I was just talking with my basketball coach and telling him how I’m learning the plays and starting to understand the game more and it’s everything that I’ve asked for. I’ve been dreaming of this moment forever. Just running out there with a group of guys and playing for Coach Ferentz, that will be a dream come true.

Q: Going back to your recruiting, what was it about Iowa that made you so comfortable calling it home for your college career?

HIGGINS: When I was there on my official visit with the other recruits, we just clicked. It just felt like we’d known each other our whole lives. Then with the coaching staff and the stability and knowing that I can trust they won’t leave for another job, I like that a lot. Also with how Iowa molds their players into something better like taking Geno Stone and turning him into an NFL prospect. That’s very attractive just knowing that I can be in that same position.

A three-star prospect, Higgins committed to Iowa on June 23, 2019, choosing the Hawkeyes over scholarship offers from Air Force, Tulane, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Ball State, Bowling Green, Miami-OH, Toledo, and Western Illinois.

As a senior, Higgins put up huge numbers at Brebeuf Jesuit Prep, finishing the season with 151 tackles and eight TFL on defense and 26 catches for 329 yards and four touchdowns on offense.

See highlights from Higgins' senior year in the video below.