Jay Higgins is accustomed to being overlooked. At the NFL scouting combine, Higgins finished last or near last in most measurable categories. Despite earning All-America honors twice at Iowa, he projects to hear his name called on the third day of the NFL Draft.
After the combine, Higgins shared photos from his time in Indianapolis with the caption:
“That’s kind of how it’s been,” Higgins said. “I got my offer to Iowa late. When I did commit, I think we had 25 guys. They had me 24th out of the 25 guys.”
“I’ve never been the first guy — ‘Oh, we want this Higgins kid.’ When it comes down to it, my name always seems to always be there at the end.”
He’s not wrong. The name Higgins will be immortalized on Iowa’s consensus All-America wall. He won Big Ten linebacker of the year after amassing 124 tackles, four interceptions and made plays all over the field. The undersized linebacker overcame the odds and his recruitment profile to become one of the best in the game — but that doesn’t always mean NFL teams are lining up.
“You can have a great year, you can win every award that you’re up for, but they’re looking for a certain type of guy,” Higgins said.
When it came to choosing representation, Higgins went with JB Sports. The same agency that represents Josey Jewell, Kristian Welch, George Kittle and Sam LaPorta. Or in other words, productive college football players.
“There are going to be guys that are going to get drafted, because they did really good in testing and I’m happy for those guys, but I chose an agency to market football players, guys from Iowa,” Higgins said.
Even if Jay’s not an NFL star, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz says there’s still a path to contributing at the next level for both him and Nick Jackson.
“When you’ve got a team in the NFL, you’ve got 53 spots, and they can’t be all all-pros — you just can’t afford that,” Ferentz said. “If you can play special teams and add other things to a team, if you can be versatile, and if you can be smart, there’s a lot to be said for that.”
Whether Jay Higgins is the first or last pick in the draft, it will be a dream come true for his father Roy.
“It’ll be a moment of reflection on when we first started,” Roy Higgins said. “The moment I discerned he was going to be special in football. All the road trips, all the popcorn we bought.”
“He’s always been the underdog, but seems to rise, so we’re just looking forward to someone calling his name and giving him a chance.”
Jay Higgins NFL Comp: Stephen Tulloch
Is there a path to an undersized linebacker making it as a starter in the NFL? Of course, and a memorable one at that.
In 2006, the 5-foot-11 Stephen Tulloch was graded as the third-most productive player in his class and tested 27th at the combine. The NC State alum ran an ugly 4.86 40-yard dash, even slower than Jay Higgins.
The Tennessee Titans selected Tulloch with their fourth-round draft selection, and he outperformed his stock by a mile. Tulloch appeared in 159 NFL games in 11 seasons. He wasn’t just a run stopper or a third-down backer, he did a little bit of everything. Including sacking the quarterback and tearing his ACL celebrating.
Tulloch does weigh 20 pounds more than Higgins, who slimmed down nine pounds to 224 for the scouting combine. It’s possible Higgins could have a similar career as former Hawkeye Kristian Welch, who’s heading into his 6th NFL season primarily playing special teams.
Or maybe he’ll do what he’s always done — be the last one standing.
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