Two Iowa Stars Receive Huge Midseason Recognition

Two Iowa Hawkeyes football stars have received huge recognition in the middle of the season.

Iowa’s Jay Higgins (34) lines up against Iowa State during the Cy-Hawk game Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. / Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

At this point in the 2024 college football season, the Iowa Hawkeyes are 4-2 and are hoping to go on a run and make themselves a Big Ten championship contender.

So far, they have lost to the Iowa State Cyclones and Ohio State Buckeyes. The Iowa State loss was a tough one to swallow, but losing to Ohio State was nothing to hang their heads about.

Coming off of a massive blowout win over the Washington Huskies by a final score of 40-16, hopes are high surrounding the Hawkeyes.

With that in mind, two players received some major individual recognition for their performances so far this season. Those two players are star linebacker Jay Higgins and star running back Kaleb Johnson.

CBS Sports revealed their midseason All-American team. Both Iowa stars made the cut and received the praise that they deserve for how good they have been so far in 2024.

Johnson has been basically the entire Hawkeyes' offense so far this year. He has carried the football 118 times for 937 yards and 12 touchdowns. In addition to his rushing numbers, he has caught 12 passes for 53 yards and a touchdown.

Higgins, on the other hand, has been the unquestioned leader of the Iowa defense. He has racked up 62 total tackles this season to go along with a sack, two forced fumbles, two interceptions, and two defended passes. Those numbers make him one of the most productive linebackers in the nation.

It will be interesting to see what the rest of the season has in store for both of these players. Both of them also appear to be headed towards playing on Sunday's in the future.

Hopefully, the Hawkeyes will be able to continue winning behind the leadership of Johnson and Higgins. They will face off against Michigan State this weekend in what should be a good game.

If they can win out, which is a possibility with the schedule that they have ahead of them, they could end up being an option for the Big Ten Championship Game.

Kirk Ferentz and company have a lot of work to do, but they simply need to keep on winning to give themselves a chance.