Lukas Van Ness is rapidly taking himself from a name known by Iowa Hawkeyes fans to a name known by the Big Ten to a nationally recognized pass rusher and doing so in a hurry.
The Hawkeyes sack leader is making his presence known with his pass rushing ability. This past weekend he led the nation in quarterback pressures with nine against Rutgers per Pro Football Focus.
Applying 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚@lukas_vanness x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/BdiyYGgLrL
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) September 26, 2022
Van Ness has three sacks on the season, five tackles for loss, and 14 tackles. The biggest play Van Ness made last week was getting home on a pass rush and lighting up Rutgers quarterback Evan Simon causing him to let an errant ball go that turned into a pick six touchdown on an interception return by Cooper DeJean.
His versatility along the defensive front has been a big key to his success. Van Ness has lined up at defensive end, defensive tackle, and been moved around by defensive coordinator Phil Parker to get the best matchups.
Not only does Van Ness play fantastic defense, his willingness and outright success on special teams has been a huge lift to the Hawkeyes as well. Van Ness had two punt blocks against Iowa State in Week 2, which earned him Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
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