INDIANAPOLIS — Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz says he believes in Santa Claus.
With a gift like linebacker Nick Jackson and the rest of the defensive seniors returning for one more year in the black and gold, who's to say Ferentz is wrong?
"That was Merry Christmas for all of us," he said. "Nick, to me, represents the perfect transfer guy."
Indeed, Jackson's presence is a present in the loaded 2024 Hawkeye defense, as one of eight starters returning from last year's unit that effectively carried the team to a 10-4 record and (presumably the final) Big Ten West division title.
The understanding going into 2023 was that as a graduate transfer, Jackson had just one season to be a Hawkeye — and what a season it was. Jackson finished second on the team and fourth in the Big Ten with 110 tackles, no small feat jumping into Phil Parker's defense after a highly successful career at Virginia.
"We lost not only really good players at linebacker (after 2022) but lost really good leadership too with [Seth] Benson and [Jack] Campbell graduating," said Ferentz. "We felt good about Jay [Higgins], but we wanted to have a running mate for him and Nick brought that."
Higgins, who vaulted to All-American status in his first year as a starter next to Jackson, put an even finer point on what his addition meant.
"Nick came from Virginia with [360] tackles, a solidified career, came to the University of Iowa and played next to a guy who hadn't played before," said Higgins, referring to himself. "I'm not naive to how hard that must have been for him. But he's been nothing but a blessing to Coach [Seth] Wallace, the program, what he's done for the linebacker room, the leadership that he brings, the different perspective."
"Like, that's a guy that you want in your locker room, guys like that who can put their pride to the side and put the team first," Higgins continued. "I don't think a lot of people could have did what he did. And the defense obviously was better because he decided to do that."
Hopping into a Phil Parker defense and producing in Year 1 was impressive enough. Then the NCAA decided in January that Jackson had one more year of eligibility after his last season at Virginia was curtailed by tragedy, and all of a sudden he had another year to be a Hawkeye — which he has wholeheartedly embraced.
"It's weird to think about how I've only been here for just about a year now," Jackson said. "These are my best friends, I love these dudes. I feel like I've been here for a while."
"I feel like that's a big part of leadership," Higgins said. "He talks with everybody, he hangs with everybody, he jokes with everybody. He's just a guy you want around."
"He's had such a great career, but I was certainly excited that he came back, and I'm really grateful that he did," said safety Quinn Schulte. "I'm also excited for this year because he's been growing tremendously and he's still been getting better, and he treats every day like it's his first day on campus."
Tight end Luke Lachey practices against Jackson frequently, and said he's noticed Jackson's continuing growth with the program.
"He's a leader on our team, and you can tell that he's gained confidence there because he's more vocal than he's ever been," Lachey said.
Of course, when a defensive coordinator like Parker — the reigning Broyles Award winner and architect of one of the most consistently fearsome defenses in all of college football — is also in the building every day, coming back for one last season becomes an easier decision.
'"The other day, just talking to [Parker] about life stuff, he ended up giving me advice about the stock market, which was kind of funny," Jackson said with a laugh. "But honestly he's a great guy, a great coach. I'm thankful to be able to learn from him, the level and attention to detail, just the way he approaches the game, and the way he just commands and leads us."
Having a full offseason to further ingratiate himself in the Parker defense — and with his teammates — is great news for Jackson and awful news for opposing ball-carriers, considering he was able to walk onto campus and post triple-digit tackles.
Another triple-digit tackle total in 2024 could make Jackson the NCAA's career leader in tackles. He enters the season with 464 stops for his career, 113 behind Carlton Martial of Troy, who recorded 577 tackles from 2018-22. Underscoring his status as a vocal leader on the defense, Jackson demurred on (publicly) setting any individual goals for 2024 — or even any larger-scale team goals.
"A successful season for the team is [to go] 1-0 every week," Jackson said. "You can only focus on the game that's ahead of you. You can't get caught up in what Week 12, Week 13 or the playoffs are going to look like. [...] That's a hard thing to do honestly, being young and growing through that. Just being focused on the day and knowing that the opponent at the end of the week is the only one that matters at that time."
If that sounds like "coachspeak," it is — Iowa's most decorated players are usually fluent in it. And it's no surprise that when it's time for Jackson to hang up the cleats, coaching is "most definitely" an attractive career to him too.
"I think these dudes have one of the coolest jobs in the world," he said. "You get to coach ball, you get to hang out with a bunch of guys all day, just... be guys, you know what I mean? It really makes you think about what you want to do in the future."
Don't get too caught up in the future, though — not while there's a whole season to play first.
"Embrace the moment, enjoy the moment, and shoot, just attack it," Jackson said. "Every day, I think it's so bittersweet, because you know this one's it. I've been saying that for a couple years now, but you know, this one's actually it. You just attack every moment because there's nothing that beats college football."
