NJ #53

Nick Jackson

Linebacker · Iowa

An iron-man linebacker who played 67 college games between Virginia and Iowa before turning heads in an electric Buccaneers preseason.

Nick Jackson is one of the most durable players in recent college football history, and he carried that reliability into an undrafted NFL debut with Tampa Bay. After four seasons at Virginia and two more at Iowa, he made an immediate impression on Todd Bowles' defense.

★ Tied for third-most Division I college football games played all-time (67)

★ 354 career tackles at Virginia

★ 2022 second-team All-ACC selection

★ 2023 third-team All-Big Ten selection at Iowa

Path to the league

Jackson played four seasons at Virginia from 2019 to 2022 before transferring to Iowa for his final two years of eligibility. He went undrafted in 2025 and signed with the Buccaneers as a free agent on May 12, 2025.

Career highlights

Jackson racked up 354 tackles across his four seasons at Virginia, peaking with 104 tackles and five sacks in 2022 to earn second-team All-ACC honors. At Iowa, he was named third-team All-Big Ten in 2023 and won Big Ten co-Defensive Player of the Week honors after a big game against Michigan State. He is tied with Tulane's Erick Hicks Jr. for the third-most games played by a Division I player in history, at 67.

2025 season recap

Jackson stood out immediately in Tampa Bay's preseason, headlining a Week One win over Tennessee with six tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, a quarterback hit, and a one-handed interception, becoming the first Buccaneer since 2017 to record a sack and an interception in the same preseason game. He was promoted to Tampa Bay's active roster in December and appeared in his first regular-season game as a rookie.