Video: Kaleb Johnson on Nebraska win, future with Iowa soccer
Kaleb Johnson discusses Iowa’s win over Nebraska on Black Friday.
IOWA CITY — Jay Higgins had one thing to say.
To be truthful, he often does. Higgins gained final season’s Golden Gavel, awarded to the Iowa soccer participant who’s most cooperative {and professional} with native media, for a cause.
However as Higgins arrived for his post-game assembly with the media on Black Friday, it felt completely different. He carried a tone — and urgency — irregular for him.
Higgins delivered a gap assertion with out even being requested a query. That is one thing a coach would possibly do, however out of the extraordinary for a participant, particularly after a recreation.
Higgins got here out firing.
Because it seems, the tone for Iowa’s eventual 13-10 win over Nebraska was set earlier than the opening kickoff. Not that the Hawkeyes wanted extra motivation Friday — with it already being Senior Day and a rivalry matchup — however Nebraska supplied it.
“We went on the market, the captains went on the market, we often shake fingers, want all people good luck,” Higgins mentioned. “They didn’t attain out their fingers. In order that was somewhat bizarre.”
Iowa’s recreation captains, Higgins, Quinn Schulte, Luke Lachey and Logan Jones, approached the Nebraska gamers for handshakes, solely to get a complete lot of nothing in return. The Iowa gamers slowly backtrack.
“The second he didn’t shake our fingers, I knew we gained,” Higgins mentioned.
That wasn’t the one pregame stunt, based on Higgins.
“Our guys are warming up, doing our pregame and their head coach (Matt Rhule) walked via the warmup,” Higgins mentioned. “So we instantly knew what sort of recreation this was.”
Higgins is wired to take issues personally. That’s how he acquired so far within the first place. His solely energy convention supply out of highschool was Iowa. In 2023 and 2024, he made a convincing case to win the Butkus Award for school soccer’s high linebacker but wasn’t even included within the record of finalists.
Main as much as Friday’s matchup, Higgins mentioned this: “I get pleasure from placing my head down, being doubted and simply attending to work. I’ve change into very snug in that head area. I kinda want it at this level.”
So in his remaining recreation at Kinnick Stadium, Higgins certain wasn’t going to let Nebraska’s antics go unnoticed.
At one level of his post-game handle, fellow linebacker Nick Jackson joined Higgins.
“You need somewhat extra tea?” Higgins requested Jackson, referring to extra drama.
“What’s extra tea?” Jackson mentioned. “Let’s get into it.”
Early within the recreation, Higgins claims Rhule took it even a step additional.
“We had been on their sideline and I acquired somewhat near their head coach and I mentioned, ‘It most likely wasn’t a good suggestion to not shake our fingers,’” Higgins mentioned. “And he goes, ‘Who’re you?’”
“What number of tackles (did) I’ve?” Higgins requested Jackson.
Jackson shrugs.
“Sufficient,” he mentioned.
(Higgins had a game-high 12 whole tackles).
Video: Jay Higgins on how pregame disrespect fueled win over Nebraska
Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson discusses Iowa’s win over Nebraska.
Requested about post-game concerning the disrespect dished out by Nebraska, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz mentioned, “I heard some stuff within the locker room, however I wasn’t on the market. So I did not see it and actually cannot touch upon it. There are particular pregame etiquette most individuals observe, however once more, I did not see it. Fairly frankly, I am not too nervous about it.”
The primary half was ugly for Iowa. The Hawkeyes offense mustered simply 20 whole yards and one first down. Nebraska went into halftime main 10-0.
However Higgins was exceedingly…unrattled.
“I believed Drew (Stevens) was going to kick a 50-yarder to win,” Higgins mentioned. “That’s what I used to be telling myself at halftime. However how good did they really feel at halftime? They didn’t shake our fingers, up 10. I imply, they had been most likely in that locker room going loopy.”
After halftime, the sport began to unravel for Nebraska. They missed a 34-yard subject objective after which botched a punt return shortly after, gifting Iowa the ball contained in the five-yard line. Down 10-3 to start out the fourth quarter, working again Kaleb Johnson made an almost superhuman play.
Johnson is a outstanding story himself. He burst onto the scene as a real freshman, was a digital non-factor most of his sophomore season and has now blossomed into among the finest working backs within the nation.
He confirmed each little bit of that when he caught a go from quarterback Jackson Stratton and turned what ought to’ve been a minimal acquire right into a 72-yard landing.
“Any ups and downs that we could have gone via, it has been value it as a result of it is simply so enjoyable to see him be assured and act like a soccer participant, an actual soccer participant,” Ferentz mentioned of Johnson.
Kirk Ferentz quotes Albert Einstein after Iowa’s win over Nebraska
The Hawkeye head coach gained his 204th recreation at Iowa with an inconceivable victory by which his offense gained 5 first downs.
The rating remained tied at 10 with lower than one minute remaining. That’s when Iowa defensive lineman Max Llewellyn acquired to Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola and delivered a strip sack.
17 seconds of recreation time later, in got here Drew Stevens.
It was a full-circle second for Stevens, who was benched throughout final season’s recreation towards Nebraska. In an eerily comparable state of affairs, it was most well-liked walk-on Marshall Meeder who acquired the nod over Stevens, booting his first profession kick over the uprights for a game-winner.
“It sucks when another person is on the market doing all of your job,” Stevens mentioned. “I’m gonna be trustworthy. That does suck. Particularly whenever you practice all yr spherical doing it.”
Very similar to Higgins, Stevens had a suspicion about how Friday would finish.
“ what’s loopy is definitely, individuals ask me like, do you propose your celebrations?” Stevens mentioned. “And that one we had been speaking about at just like the second quarter or one thing. Like dude, we should always go lead the group right down to the trophy if we hit it. After which Max (Llewellyn) principally takes the ball from Mahomes Jr. (Raiola) and there we go.”
Video: Drew Stevens talks kick that delivered victory vs. Nebraska
Drew Stevens discusses Iowa’s win over Nebraska on Black Friday.
Stevens’ game-winning 53-yard subject objective capped off an everyday season that has not gone in addition to some hoped. Iowa returned some key items from a 2023 group that gained 10 common season video games. However that magic didn’t solely translate to 2024 because the Hawkeyes displayed drastic fluctuations in play.
Iowa, which finishes the common season 8-4, doesn’t have all of its issues solved by beating a Nebraska group that’s barely bowl-eligible.
However it’s a testomony to perception.
Stevens and Higgins alike believed Iowa would win the sport at a time when it did not seem like they might. Perception exterior the partitions of Iowa’s facility just isn’t all the time plentiful. However video games like Friday’s give cause to consider this system’s basis, constructed on resilience, is alive and properly, irrespective of how flawed some components of it is perhaps.
Iowa, outgained a startling 334-164 on Friday, can win regardless of its imperfections.
Even in a season that has fallen in need of expectations, Iowa can maintain onto that because it strikes towards 2025 and past.
Higgins didn’t get his pregame handshake from Nebraska. However he made certain to get loads after Iowa gained.
“As a result of they didn’t need to shake our fingers earlier than the sport, I went as much as their head coach and shook his hand and advised him ‘good recreation’,” Higgins mentioned.
Higgins was achieved along with his opening assertion.
“Any questions?”
Observe Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact by way of e-mail at [email protected]
