Lukas Van Ness impressing coaching staff with versatility on defense and special teams

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) - Sophomore Lukas Van Ness is an paragon of what an Iowa defensive player can do.

Coaches ask players to line up on defense and special teams, and Van Ness has been doing both.

“He’s doing some really good things for us defensively whether he’s playing snaps for us inside, outside obviously he’s made his contribution on special teams.,” said defensive line coach Kelvin Bell.

Van Ness blocked two punts last Saturday, tying an Iowa record. He’s got a lot on his plate, playing defensive tackle, defense end and special teams, but Kelvin Bell said he’s worthy.

“He’s got an incredible load on him but it wouldn’t be there if they guy couldn’t handle it,” Bell said. “Just being able to play up and down the line of scrimmage helps me with depth. The impact that he’s having from a special teams standpoint, you can’t overstate that enough.”

Copyright 2022 KCRG. All rights reserved.