Jay Higgins
{{Short description|American football player (born 2002)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Jay Higgins
| image = Jay Higgins (53374068994) (cropped).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Higgins with Iowa in 2023
| currentteam = Baltimore Ravens
| number =
| position = Linebacker
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2002|2|14}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 0
| weight_lb = 224
| high_school = Brebeuf Jesuit Prep {{nowrap|(Indianapolis, Indiana)}}
| college = Iowa (2020–2024)
| undraftedyear = 2025
|pastteams=
- Baltimore Ravens ({{nfly|2025}}–present)
|status = Active
| highlights =
- Big Ten Linebacker of the Year (2024)
- Unanimous All-American (2024)
- First-team All-Big Ten (2023, 2024)
}}
Roy Jebaz "Jay" Higgins IV{{Cite web |date=2024-11-28 |title=Hawkeyes’ Jay Higgins was destined for greatness from birth |url=https://www.ourquadcities.com/sports/hawkeye-headquarters/hawkeyes-jay-higgins-was-destined-for-greatness-from-birth/amp/ |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=WHBF - OurQuadCities.com |language=en-US}} (born February 14, 2002) is an American professional football linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Early life
Higgins was born on February 14, 2002, and attended Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School. Higgins committed to play college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes.{{cite web |last1=Tachman |first1=Tyler |title=Jay Higgins is forging his own Iowa football legacy in Hawkeyes' improbable season |url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/college/iowa/football/2023/11/28/iowa-football-linebacker-jay-higgins-hawkeyes-big-ten-conference/71723407007/ |website=The Des Moines Register |access-date=29 November 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Dochterman |first1=Scott |title=‘It doesn’t get better than this’: Why tackling machine Jay Higgins chose Iowa |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1649448/2020/03/03/iowa-football-jay-higgins-2020-inside-linebacker-recruiting-indianapolis/ |website=The Athletic |access-date=29 November 2023}}
College career
As a freshman in 2020 Higgins notched just two tackles.{{cite web |last1=Votzmeyer |first1=Colin |title=Iowa football middle linebacker Jay Higgins is ready to shine and continue the Hawkeye standard |url=https://dailyiowan.com/2023/09/14/iowa-football-middle-linebacker-jay-higgins-ready-to-shine-and-continue-the-hawkeye-standard/ |website=The Daily Iowan |access-date=29 November 2023}} In 2021, he totaled five tackles and a fumble recovery.{{cite web |title=Jay Higgins 2021 Game Logs |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/jay-higgins-1/gamelog/2021/ |website=Sports Reference |access-date=29 November 2023}} In week 9 of the 2022 season, Higgins recorded a career-high 11 tackles versus Northwestern.{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=Nathan |title=College Football: Linebackers Jackson and Higgins ready to continue Iowa's defensive standard |url=https://globegazette.com/sports/college/football/nick-jackson-jay-higgins-iowa-football-defense-linebackers-utah-state/article_af69b414-437c-11ee-9770-a75449472ae8.html |website=Globe Gazette |access-date=29 November 2023}} He finished the season with 39 tackles with one and half going for a loss, and half a sack.{{cite web |title=Jay Higgins 2022 Game Logs |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/jay-higgins-1/gamelog/2022/ |website=Sports Reference |access-date=29 November 2023}} Higgins tallied 16 tackles in the 2023 season opener against Utah State.{{cite web |last1=Steppe |first1=John |title=Jay Higgins continues Iowa football’s trend of stellar middle linebackers |url=https://www.thegazette.com/iowa-football/jay-higgins-continues-iowa-footballs-trend-of-stellar-middle-linebackers/ |website=The Gazette |access-date=29 November 2023}} In week 4, he notched a career-high 18 tackles versus Penn State.{{cite web |last1=Reister |first1=Scott |title=Iowa LB Jay Higgins leading the Hawkeye defense |url=https://www.kcci.com/article/iowa-lb-jay-higgins-leading-the-hawkeye-defense/45772678# |website=KCCI |access-date=29 November 2023}} Higgins was a semifinalist for the 2023 Butkus Award and a first-team all-Big Ten Conference selection by both the coaches and the media.{{cite web |title=Jay Higgins Butkus Semifinalist |url=https://www.si.com/college/iowa/football/jay-higgins-butkus-semifinalist |work=Iowa Hawkeyes on SI |publisher=SI.com |access-date=29 November 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Tachman |first1=Tyler |title=Iowa football's Cooper DeJean, Tory Taylor among Hawkeyes to earn All-Big Ten honors |url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/college/iowa/football/2023/11/28/iowa-football-jay-higgins-tory-taylor-among-hawkeyes-to-earn-all-big-ten-honors/71727240007/ |website=The Des Moines Register |access-date=29 November 2023}} In 2024, Higgins was again named first team all-Big Ten and won the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year.{{cite web |last1=Binder |first1=Ross |title= Jay Higgins Named Big Ten Linebacker of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten |url=https://iowa.rivals.com/news/jay-higgins-named-big-ten-linebacker-of-the-year-first-team-all-big-ten |website=Hawkeye Beacon |access-date=27 December 2024}}
=College statistics=
| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" | ||||
| ! colspan="10" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Iowa Hawkeyes}}"|{{center|Iowa Hawkeyes}} | ||||
| rowspan=2|Season
! colspan=4|Tackles ! colspan="1" |Sacks ! colspan="2" |Fumbles ! colspan="2" |INT | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | Ast | Total | TFL | Total
!FF !FR !INT !PD |
| 2020
|2 |0 |2 |0.0 |0.0 |0 |0 |0 |0 | ||||
| 2021
|3 |2 |5 |0.0 |0.0 |0 |1 |0 |0 | ||||
| 2022
|20 |19 |39 |2.0 |0.5 |0 |0 |0 |0 | ||||
| 2023
|79 |92 |171 |5.0 |2.0 |1 |2 |1 |4 | ||||
| 2024
|53 |71 |124 |3.0 |1.0 |2 |1 |4 |5 | ||||
| Totals
!157||184||341||10.0||3.5 !3 !4 !5 !9 |
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 0 1/8
| weight = 224
| dash = 4.82
| ten split = 1.64
| twenty split = 2.79
| shuttle = 4.35
| cone drill = 7.01
| vertical = 33.0
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 2
| bench = 20
| arm span = 31
| hand span = 9 1/2
| note = All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/jay-higgins/32004849-4722-6102-1624-b21189e2f7bc |title=Jay Higgins Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |website=NFL.com |access-date=February 27, 2025}}{{Cite web |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1040567&DraftYear=2025 |title=Jay Higgins College Football Profile |website=DraftScout.com |access-date=February 27, 2025}}
}}
Higgins signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2025.{{cite web|title=Ravens Sign 17 Undrafted Rookie Free Agents|url=https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/ravens-undrafted-rookie-free-agents-rookies-sign-2025-camp|author=Mink, Ryan|website=BaltimoreRavens.com|date=May 4, 2025}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- [https://hawkeyesports.com/roster/jay-higgins/ Iowa Hawkeyes bio]
{{2024 NCAA Division I FBS College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{Baltimore Ravens roster navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Jay}}
Category:Players of American football from Indianapolis
Category:American football linebackers
Category:All-American college football players