Nick Jackson has been ‘perfect transfer portal guy’ for Iowa football as he leaves multiple legacies

IOWA CITY — Nick Jackson has become somewhat of a veteran when it comes to senior-day ceremonies.

The first senior day was supposed to happen in 2022 at Virginia (until that game was canceled). He had another senior day last year at Iowa when it looked like he was in his last year of eligibility.

And now the sixth-year linebacker — still playing this season because of an NCAA waiver — will be one of the 23 seniors honored Friday night ahead of the Nebraska game.

“I told him he shouldn’t cry,” fellow linebacker Jay Higgins said in jest. “At this point, he should just walk out there. They should give him his flowers or whatever.”

Now Jackson’s lengthy college football career appears to be wrapping up for real this time -- “three games left, I’ve been telling myself that for a couple years now,” Jackson said last week. The former Virginia and current Iowa linebacker leaves quite the legacy at two different schools.

Jackson has 544 career tackles, which ranks second in the NCAA behind Troy’s Carlton Martial. (Jackson would need another 34 tackles in Iowa’s one remaining regular-season game and the bowl game to break Martial’s record.)

Even if Jackson somehow did not record another tackle, his 544 career tackles already is quite the testament to his college football longevity. No other linebacker actively on a power-conference roster has more than 400.

“I hope that I can look back and be a Virginia Cavalier and an Iowa Hawkeye,” Jackson said when asked about his legacy. “That would mean a lot to me.”

By the time Jackson was done at Virginia in 2022, he was a two-year team captain, three-year all-ACC honoree and Virginia’s 2022 defensive MVP. Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz was effusive in his praise of Jackson, describing him as the “perfect transfer portal guy.”

“From the first time you meet him in person, he's a focused, serious guy,” Ferentz said. “Knows what he's looking for, has a clear vision of what he's looking for. Fortunately for us, we met the vision. Just been unbelievably good to work with.”

Jackson certainly has not lacked in on-field progression during his time as a Hawkeye. He was a third-team all-Big Ten honoree last year after recording 110 total tackles, four sacks and a career-high eight tackles for loss on a defense that led the country in yards allowed per play.

Then this year, Jackson already has 80 total tackles, five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and a career-high seven pass deflections. He even grabbed his first career interception in Iowa’s win over Northwestern.

But for how impressive Jackson has been on the field as a Hawkeye, his off-the-field cohesion with teammates — many of whom have been at Iowa for two or three times longer than he has — might be even more special.

“I don't know if blended in is the right word, but just became one of our team guys just like that,” Ferentz said. “It was effortless for him.”

He has especially bonded with Higgins. The idea of the starting middle linebacker and weakside linebacker having a bond is not entirely unexpected, but the degree of their friendship has gone well beyond what is necessary on the field.

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“I didn’t know how I was going to get this much time with him and also didn’t know that we were going to become friends so easy,” Higgins said of Jackson. “Sometimes, I feel like I’m talking to a mirror.”

As Jackson’s days of college football dwindle, he will most miss the locker room — a place with “a bunch of guys who talk about the process and enjoy the process.”

“A lot of people — they get to come out, get drunk, have a heck of a Saturday, watch it,” Jackson said. “But everybody else, we know that there’s a process that starts in January. Day in and day out, and you’re in the locker room with those guys, and you’re going through that process just for a guarantee of 12 games.”

Jackson plans to pursue an NFL career after the conclusion of his Hawkeye career. His time around the sport might not end there either.

“I’m going to enjoy that process for as long as it lets me and try and make a career of it,” Jackson said. “But after that, I have a love for football. … Makes me want to think about coaching a lot. And I have a love for finance, sales, all that stuff, too, from school at Virginia.”

First, though, he has yet another senior day ceremony to enjoy.

“If we can get him a fourth, I'm all for it,” Ferentz said with a smile. “Probably not possible.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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