Lukas Van Ness flashed for the Iowa Hawkeyes in limited time during the 2021 college football season and that has been a big reason he has become one of the names to be on the lookout for this fall. The sophomore defensive lineman has great versatility and strength to utilize at all four positions on the defensive front.
Due to his performance last year and the expectations that have risen for the product out of Barrington, Ill., Van Ness finds himself among Athlon Sports’ top 50 college football breakout players for the 2022 season.
Van Ness shined in a backup role as a redshirt freshman for the Hawkeyes last year, recording 33 tackles (8.5 for a loss) and seven sacks over 462 snaps. With another offseason to develop and learn under coordinator Phil Parker, expect Van Ness to emerge as one of the top linemen in the Big Ten. – Lassan, Athlon Sports.
The Hawkeyes have high expectations for the defensive line and believe it could be one of their strengths with a very experienced group of linebackers and defensive backs behind them. Van Ness can be expected to be lining up at any of the four positions as the year progresses and has spoken about what that could entail in 2022.
“I mean, last year I played as a defensive tackle and I recorded seven sacks. For this fall, they’re planning on moving me to defensive end, so they’re bumping me back outside. I lost a little weight. I was playing around 280, 285 last year, and I’m right around 275. Moved outside, so obviously I’m going to set my goals high.
“I hope to have at least a 14-sack season, which is very tough to do. That’s at least a sack a game if we continue to go far past the bowl game. It’s hard to do, but I think that if you want to be successful in this game, you’ve got to put pressure on the QB and good defensive end play is key to winning games, so I would say 14 sacks for me is my goal,” Van Ness said.
…so this Lukas Van Ness kid has some power! Looks like f'n Justin Smith here lol
Whoa.
And against Peter Skoronski – who might be the best OT in CFB this season pic.twitter.com/jLp3Bg7cVN
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) August 6, 2022
Lukas Van Ness has added strength and power during the offseason in the Iowa Hawkeyes’ strength and conditioning program. His speed and agility are evident from last season as he has the ability to turn the corner on offensive lineman or simply bull rush them as evidenced in the clip above.
With high expectations for the defensive line and experience across the board returning, Van Ness will have his chance to be one of the anchors not alone along the defensive front but the entire Hawkeyes defense.
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