Iowa defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness introduced on social media on Tuesday afternoon that he was declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft.
Van Ness, a 6’5″, 275-pound sophomore from Barrington, Illinois, is in his first yr of eligibility for the draft having come from the 2020 recruiting class. He’s nonetheless simply 21 years outdated, and his hybrid of inside and edge expertise in addition to a physique that earned him the nickname “Hercules” amongst teammates, make him a first-rate NFL prospect.
Van Ness, named a second-team All-Large Ten defensive lineman by each the coaches and media in 2022, is anticipated to be the seventeenth Iowa defensive lineman drafted within the Kirk Ferentz period. He additionally has an actual shot to be Ferentz’s twelfth first-round draft decide, which probably made his choice a little bit of a foregone conclusion.
“It has been an absolute honor representing the Black and Gold these final three years,” Van Ness stated in his assertion. “It was not a simple choice to depart the College of Iowa with remaining eligibility. […] I nonetheless plan to finish my diploma and characterize the Hawkeye household in all the pieces I do.”
Van Ness tied or led the crew in tackles-for-loss and sacks in his two energetic seasons as a Hawkeye, registering 11.5 TFL and seven sacks in 2022 this season and eight.5 TFL and seven sacks in 2021.
He additionally blocked two punts in opposition to Iowa State, the primary Hawkeye to take action since 2003, and his large hit on Rutgers QB Evan Simon compelled an errant throw that Cooper DeJean returned for a pick-six — with Van Ness even delivering one final pancake block on the aim line:
Van Ness leaves Iowa as yet one more Kirk Ferentz recruiting success, having been a three-star recruit in 2020 with solely a handful of different Energy 5 affords from Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State and Minnesota.
