Jay Higgins
Higgins with Iowa in 2023 | |
| Baltimore Ravens | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | February 14, 2002 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight: | 224 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Brebeuf Jesuit Prep (Indianapolis, Indiana) |
| College: | Iowa (2020–2024) |
| NFL draft: | 2025: undrafted |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Roy Jebaz "Jay" Higgins IV[1] (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.[2][3]
College career
As a freshman in 2020 Higgins notched just two tackles.[4] In 2021, he totaled five tackles and a fumble recovery.[5] In week 9 of the 2022 season, Higgins recorded a career-high 11 tackles versus Northwestern.[6] He finished the season with 39 tackles with one and half going for a loss, and half a sack.[7] Higgins tallied 16 tackles in the 2023 season opener against Utah State.[8] In week 4, he notched a career-high 18 tackles versus Penn State.[9] 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.[10][11] In 2024, Higgins was again named first team all-Big Ten and won the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year.[12]
College statistics
Iowa Hawkeyes
| |||||||||
| Season | Tackles | Sacks | Fumbles | 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
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0+1⁄8 in (1.83 m) |
224 lb (102 kg) |
31 in (0.79 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
4.82 s | 1.64 s | 2.79 s | 4.35 s | 7.01 s | 33.0 in (0.84 m) |
9 ft 2 in (2.79 m) |
20 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[13][14] | ||||||||||||
Higgins signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2025.[15]
References
- ^ "Hawkeyes' Jay Higgins was destined for greatness from birth". WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. November 28, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
- ^ Tachman, Tyler. "Jay Higgins is forging his own Iowa football legacy in Hawkeyes' improbable season". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ Dochterman, Scott. "'It doesn't get better than this': Why tackling machine Jay Higgins chose Iowa". The Athletic. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ Votzmeyer, Colin. "Iowa football middle linebacker Jay Higgins is ready to shine and continue the Hawkeye standard". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "Jay Higgins 2021 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ Thomas, Nathan. "College Football: Linebackers Jackson and Higgins ready to continue Iowa's defensive standard". Globe Gazette. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "Jay Higgins 2022 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ Steppe, John. "Jay Higgins continues Iowa football's trend of stellar middle linebackers". The Gazette. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ Reister, Scott. "Iowa LB Jay Higgins leading the Hawkeye defense". KCCI. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "Jay Higgins Butkus Semifinalist". Iowa Hawkeyes on SI. SI.com. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ Tachman, Tyler. "Iowa football's Cooper DeJean, Tory Taylor among Hawkeyes to earn All-Big Ten honors". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ Binder, Ross. "Jay Higgins Named Big Ten Linebacker of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten". Hawkeye Beacon. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
- ^ "Jay Higgins Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
- ^ "Jay Higgins College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
- ^ Mink, Ryan (May 4, 2025). "Ravens Sign 17 Undrafted Rookie Free Agents". BaltimoreRavens.com.