Jayden Higgins & Jaylin Noel: AthleteAnd Fishermen
"There’s not much to do in Ames, Iowa."
That’s how Jaylin Noel felt during many of his college playing days at Iowa State. But thanks to the arrival of a new transfer named Jayden Higgins and a unique bond that has carried over into their current time as Houston Texans teammates, Noel found a way to make the most of his time in Iowa.
“I met him when I was a junior at Iowa State, and he was on his official visit,” Noel recalled about Higgins, who transferred from Eastern Kentucky in December 2022. “I really learned that he was a goofy dude; pretty quick; funny dude. We had the same football goals and aspirations, which is how we were able to click pretty fast.
Higgins shared the same sentiment, reminiscing on the beginning of their friendship.
“It was awesome," he explained. “[Jaylin] was just a guy that was very welcoming, and it was very cool.”
Along with their shared aspirations to play in the NFL, their friendship quickly blossomed through similar senses of humor and a surprising second passion: fishing.
“We started a TikTok channel called, ‘J&JFishinn’ because we were fishing all the time. We wanted to let our fans see another side of us — see how goofy [Jayden] was when he was catching little fish,” Noel said jokingly.
Fishing wasn’t just a pastime for the duo—it became a peaceful outlet that helped them on the field.
“It’s something that relieves stress with something you just enjoy doing in your free time,” Higgins said. “I go out there and even if I don’t catch anything, I’m still just out doing something.”
“It was nice getting away from football a little bit,” Noel added. “Just being able to talk about stuff other than football really helped us a lot and play well together.”
The impressive on-field play was evident. By their final season together in 2024, Higgins earned Associated Press Third Team All-American honors and was named Second Team All-Big 12. Noel was named Big 12 Co-Special Teams Player of the Year, a First Team All-Big 12 returner and an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 wide receiver.
Their success caught the attention of the Houston Texans, who made it much easier for the duo to maintain their tight-knit friendship. The team selected Higgins in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft and Noel in the third.
“Draft night for me was awesome,” Higgins said. “I had all my family and friends there, and then I got the news from my agent that [the Texans] were going to pick Jaylin. I was like, ‘There’s no way.’ Still describing draft night at this point is crazy.”
“It’s like something out of a movie,” Noel said. “Being able to play as well as we did together at Iowa State, become so close and then get to continue that in Houston is a real blessing.”
As they adjust to life in the NFL, Higgins and Noel aren’t sure how much time they’ll have to continue their “J&JFishinn” TikTok channel. But one thing they are certain about is that they’ll keep fishing.
The NFLPA recently joined the duo on their first Texas fishing trip. You can watch the full video here.
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