The college all-star game circuit is underway with the Hula Bowl taking place in Orlando, Fla. There have been a few reported meetings for the Pittsburgh Steelers so far, and today another is added to that list with Iowa LB Nick Jackson meeting with the team, per The Draft Network’s Ryan Fowler on X.
Jackson spent his first four years at Virginia before transferring to Iowa to finish his career. Sports-Reference has him down for 555 combined tackles in his six years of college football. He also had 33 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, one interception, 19 passes defensed, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.
Jackson is listed at 6-0, 235 pounds on Iowa’s website. He was a team captain for Virginia in 2021. He received an honorable mention for All-Big Ten this year and was an Academic All-Big Ten selection as well. His 555 career tackles are the second most in NCAA history.
The Steelers have invested a lot in their ILB room over the last couple seasons. Cole Holcomb was the big addition before the 2023 season along with Elandon Roberts, and then they made Patrick Queen the highest-paid external free agent in team history last March. They also selected Payton Wilson on Day 2 of the draft last year.
The shelves are well-stocked, but the future of Holcomb and Roberts is unclear. Even Queen, who has underperformed his contract so far, isn’t a lock to play out the duration of his contract. There are outs in that deal. The Steelers could very well find themselves in the market for an ILB again in the next year or two.
In addition to Jackson, the Steelers have met with UCF RB Peny Boone and Virginia Tech WR Ali Jennings.
With the playoffs kicking off tomorrow, things will rapidly shift into draft season with the Senior Bowl and the East-West Shrine Bowl taking place in just a few weeks.
