Jay Higgins: LB · Iowa · #34.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Jay Higgins
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Fifth year in the same linebacker corps at Iowa. All-America (Consensus) in 2024 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. One game to point at: 14 tackles against Michigan State — Week 8, 2024.
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
124 tackles. 5 passes defended. 4 interceptions. 2.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
KCCI Oct 28
FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul Oct 27Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 13 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 40-0vs Illinois State | 7 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | L 19-20vs Iowa State | 11 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 38-21vs Troy | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 31-14@ Minnesota | 9 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | L 7-35@ No. 3 Ohio State | 14 | 6 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 14 tackles |
| Wk 7 | W 40-16vs Washington | 14 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 20-32@ Michigan State | 14 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 9 | W 40-14vs Northwestern | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 42-10vs Wisconsin | 10 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | L 17-20@ UCLA | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 29-13@ Maryland | 8 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 14 | W 13-10vs Nebraska | 12 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 24-27vs No. 23 Missouri | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 124 | 53 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 4 | 5 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
124tackles this seasonTFL rate
2%2 TFLSack rate
1%1 sackPD rate
4%5 pass breakups124 tackles · 2.5 for loss · 1 sack · 4 interceptions.
5 seasons under Kirk Ferentz — 42-20 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 9.9 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Road5g | 9.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 9.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 9.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Pass share
34.4%
260 pass / 496 run
Plays / game
58.2
13 games
Team sack rate
4.6%
263 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2024
First team on every major selector list.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #8 at the position.
Selector Grid · 2024
Named Consensus All-American — recognized on 3+ of the 5 NCAA-recognized selector lists.
How it ended
Five seasons at Iowa, 340 tackles, a Unanimous All-American season (2024) — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA · UNANIMOUS
Unanimous AA (2024)
Named to 10 first-team selectors
ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM
All-Big Ten 1st team (2024)
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
1 coachPlayed every college season under Kirk Ferentz.
