Nick Jackson Settling In at Iowa

UVA LB Transfer Adjusting to New Position, Program

Iowa linebacker Nick Jackson warms up before a game against Utah State on Sept. 2, 2023 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

Nick Jackson thought Iowa’s defense was a good match.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz thought Jackson would be a good match for the Hawkeyes.

It’s worked out so far, although Jackson is having to get used to a different defense, and a slightly different spot on Iowa’s linebacker depth chart.

Jackson, playing at weakside linebacker for the Hawkeyes, has 14 tackles in the first two games of the season. He’s learning how to play the position while also dealing with the offenses of Utah State and Iowa State throwing quick passes in the first two games which has forced him into more pass coverage than creating the usual havoc that is part of Iowa’s linebacker tradition.

“I feel like I’m comfortable in coverage,” said Jackson, who played middle linebacker at Virginia. “I think there’s just adjustments of going from (middle linebacker) to (outside linebacker). Every single week, we’ve got to adjust. I’ve got to see routes differently, and I have to be ready for it.”

But Jackson seems like a good fit for the Hawkeyes, which wasn’t a surprise. As recruiting goes, getting Jackson as a graduate transfer through the NCAA’s transfer portal after a highly successful career at Virginia was easy.

“I don't mean this in a negative way,” Ferentz said this week. “The difference between talking to a guy in 10th grade currently, to talking to a guy with a commerce degree from Virginia, it's such a different discussion.”

Ferentz is always going to be selective in the portal, but finding a linebacker coming off three consecutive 100-tackle seasons is something even a finicky coach can’t pass, especially with who the Hawkeyes lost from last season. Jack Campbell and Seth Benson had combined for 223 tackles, and that was a lot of production — and leadership — that was lost.

“The thing we enjoyed about our recruitment of him, he specifically knew what he was looking for,” Ferentz said. “He had a couple schools targeted. We had a need, not only graduating two guys in the box with Benson and Campbell, that were really good players, what we were looking at is I was really concerned about the leadership void (when) you lose two guys of that magnitude.”

The kind of experience Jackson brings is something Ferentz thought would mean a lot to Iowa’s defense. Jay Higgins, who became the Hawkeyes’ middle linebacker after spring practice and summer camp, had worked his way into the position through his career, but Ferentz wanted someone alongside him.

“All of us thought great about Jay Higgins, about his growth,” Ferentz said. “Felt really good about that. It was a chance to bring another guy in, a captain, really mature, understands what it takes to be successful. You lose two guys like we just lost, then Jay (was) coming up. Then you have a guy, the last two years, he's that kind of guy. It was so seamless.

“So not only are you getting a guy who has production as a football player, but you have that leadership, too. I look at last year, you lose those two guys, you lose (Riley) Moss, (Kaevon) Merriweather on the back end, (that’s) four guys that have a lot of leadership in the bank. I think it was a big part of it, just addressing that part — not only get good players, but guys that could help fill that void a little bit.”

Jackson, though, still feels like a new player in some ways.

“It’s still learning, through all of the ins and outs,” Jackson said. “It’s just making adjustments every day. (Linebackers coach Seth) Wallace and Jay have been really great in my development within the scheme. I think every single day I’m trying to be better for this team and for this program, going through that process.

“It’s different. You’re seeing, just schematically, different run schemes. You’re seeing different play calls. I just think it’s an adjustment every day. So I’m still learning, getting better and just trying to take what I knew at Virginia and kind of put that in the back pocket.”

Jackson’s education also has a language component.

“There’s not too much of the same terminology,” he said. “We say different things. Some things mean the same things, some things mean completely different things.

“So it's all just like learning and trying to put everything together, to be able to put the puzzle together.”

It’s a puzzle Ferentz thinks has the right piece.

“He's going to see it all before the end of the season,” Ferentz said. “He'll see all kinds of offenses. But I'm really confident with each week he'll keep growing, too, like a lot of other guys on our team. That's the part that gets you excited because it's just common sense with each rep, practice, everything he's doing right now, it's really going to add to a successful year for him.”