DE Van Ness is drawing looks

Barrington (IL) junior defensive end prospect Lukas Van Ness (6-foot-5, 230 pounds) had a very strong 2018 junior season for the Broncos and head coach Joe Sanchez. Van Ness has also begun to see more and more college programs begin to take noice of him this winter and Van Ness recaps his latest recruiting news here.

"These days I've been focused on just training and lifting for football," Van Ness said. "I also play hockey and I'm on a break right now. I've played hockey my entire life and I definitely feel that playing hockey in a lot of ways has helped my game for football."

Van Ness filled us in on his latest recruiting news this winter.

"My recruiting has been going pretty well. I've been in contact with the coaches from Wisconsin, Iowa State, Illinois, Iowas, West Virginia, Western Michigan, South Dakota along with a few Ivy League schools like Penn and Princeton. The college coaches all want to start to get to know me better and they have all invited me to come out and see them on campus this winter and spring. Most of the coaches want to see me in person and see if my size is for real."

So does Van Ness have any upcoming college visit plans?

"I made a game visit last fall to Illinois and I also visited Wisconsin not too long ago. I'm looking at getting back to Wisconsin for a junior day event soon but I don't have anything set up just yet. I'm definitely going to get out and see as many schools as I can this spring."

Van ness also filled us in on what he's focused on when it comes to improving his overall game this off-season.

"Added more good weight is a big focus for me this winter. I'm also focused on using my hands better and just improving my overall quickness and having better reaction time. I'm also just focused on improving my overall fundamentals. As far as what I feel are strengths in my game I feel that I'm pretty explosive and I have a ton of stamina. I'm also pretty agile and I also have good length."

So does Van Ness have a dream school?

"I would say that my dream school would be either Iowa or Iowa State. I have a lot of family connections to Iowa. I also really like both Wisconsin and also Northwestern as well."