Connor Colby, Lukas Van Ness Freshman All-Americans

FWAA Recognizes Pair of Hawkeyes

Photo - Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa football student-athletes – offensive guard Connor Colby and defensive tackle Lukas Van Ness – were named to the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) Freshman All-America Team on Monday.

Colby (6-foot-6, 298-pounds) is a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and attended Kennedy High School. He joined the Hawkeyes last spring and started 11 of 14 games at right guard in his first college season. He earlier earned Freshman All-America honors from the Maxwell Football Club.

Van Ness (6-5, 264) redshirted his first season before seeing action in 2021. The native of Barrington, Illinois (Barrington High School) collected 33 tackles, including 17 solo stops while playing in all 14 games. Van Ness tied for the team lead with seven sacks and had 8.5 tackles for loss, three pressures and one pass break-up.

Van Ness also earned freshman All-America honors from the Maxwell Football Club and earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition as well.

Iowa joins Ohio State and Texas A&M as the only programs with multiple players on the honor squad.

Iowa posted a 10-4 overall record in 2021 while winning the Big Ten West Division with a 7-2 mark. The Hawkeyes competed in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl to conclude the season. Iowa was ranked 23rd in the final national rankings, marking the fourth straight season the Hawkeyes have been in the final rankings.