Jay Higgins

Roy Jebaz "Jay" Higgins IV is an American professional football linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Early life

Higgins was born on February 14, 2002, and attended Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School. Higgins committed to play college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

As a freshman in 2020 Higgins notched just two tackles. In 2021, he totaled five tackles and a fumble recovery. In week 9 of the 2022 season, Higgins recorded a career-high 11 tackles versus 2022 [Northwestern Wildcats football team|Northwestern]. He finished the season with 39 tackles with one and half going for a loss, and half a sack. Higgins tallied 16 tackles in the 2023 season opener against 2023 [Utah State Aggies football team|Utah State]. In week 4, he notched a career-high 18 tackles versus 2023 [Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State]. Higgins was a semifinalist for the 2023 Butkus Award and a first-team all-Big Ten Conference selection by both the coaches and the media. In 2024, Higgins was again named first team all-Big Ten and won the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year.

Higgins signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2025. Higgins survived the final round of cuts and made the Ravens' initial 53-man roster. After suffering a knee injury in Baltimore's Week 10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings season|Minnesota Vikings], he was placed on injured reserve on November 16. Higgins was activated on December 27, ahead of the team's Week 17 matchup against the Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers].