Jay Higgins is off to a hot start to the 2023 season and is beginning to look like the next great Iowa star at linebacker. It comes during Higgins’ 4th season with the program after joining the Hawkeyes in the 2020 recruiting class.

Prior to this season, Higgns had just 46 career tackles with 39 coming in the 2022 season. However, he already has 23 through 2 games, including a 16-tackle performance in the season opener.

On Tuesday, Higgins was asked about waiting his turn in this era of the transfer portal and players changing programs. The veteran linebacker said he wasn’t about “instant gratification” and understood the type of program he was joining when he committed.

“I had too much respect for Coach Wallace. I understood the process with Coach Ferentz and Coach Parker. I understood what type of program I committed to,” Higgins explained. “If we were a program that was all about the instant gratification then maybe I would have left, but that’s not what they sold me on when they recruited me.”

Through 2 games, Higgins is Iowa’s leading tackler and has chipped in 3 pass breakups for the defense. While he had to wait his turn behind Jack Campbell, Seth Benson and others, the move appears to be paying off this fall.