IOWA CITY, Iowa — A busy offseason continues in college football, especially in Iowa City, where star defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness declared for the 2023 NFL Draft, according to a Tweet from Van Ness posted on Tuesday.
The redshirt sophomore had two impressive seasons on Iowa's defensive line, during which he racked up 13 sacks, 19 tackles for a loss and 70 tackles in 26 games.
Standing at 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, The Athletic ranks Van Ness as the 25th-best NFL prospect, giving Iowa a great chance at having their fifth first-round draftee in the last five years.
Van Ness was named a Freshman All-American in 2021 by the Football Writers Association of America and the Maxwell Football Club.
He was named an All-Big Ten second-team defensive lineman this past season.
He has become a fan favorite among Hawkeye fans due to his Herculean appearance and quick rise to stardom despite being a relatively underrecruited prospect coming out of Barrington High School in Illinois.
According to 247 Sports, Van Ness' only other Power Five conference offers were from Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State and Minnesota. There were 1062 college prospects ranked ahead of Van Ness in the 2020 class.
Now, he's projected to be the first Iowa Hawkeye taken in the 2023 draft.
Sportrac.com projects the 25th overall draft pick to sign a contract worth $14.3 million, including a $7.5 signing bonus.
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