Iowa football teammates Gavin Hoffman, Devan Van Ness working as two-man moving crew
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The rise of name, image and likeness has sort of changed how college student-athletes are viewed because now they have leverage and financial opportunities that weren’t available just a few years ago.
But in some ways, student-athletes are no different than they were before NIL.
They still get summer jobs, and they still value hard work and the satisfaction from earning their own spending money.
I was reminded of that on Tuesday as two members of the Iowa football team came to my next-door neighbor’s house in Iowa City to haul away a load to the dump that consisted of wood, branches, furniture, wire fencing and an old ladder.
Freshman tight end Gavin Hoffman and freshman linebacker Devan Van Ness have joined forces this summer as a two-man moving crew.
They’ll move just about anything, including a piano from upstairs to downstairs, or vice versa, as they did on Monday.
My next-door neighbor hired them for what she said was a fair price after seeing their ad on an app called Nextdoor.com, which is where communities come together to exchange information, make recommendations and support local businesses.
It took Hoffman and Van Ness less than 30 minutes to finish the job at my neighbor’s house, and that was despite my neighbor and I talking to them the whole time.
My neighbor loves the Hawkeyes, and it isn’t often that she has two Iowa football players hauling stuff from her drive way.
This was a cool experience for her, getting to know two Iowa football players, and getting rid of a lot of junk from around the house.
![](https://hawkfanatic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/movers-two-300x225.jpg)
The reporter in me had to ask how this partnership came to be.
Hoffman and Van Ness both enrolled early at the University Iowa as part of the 2024 recruiting class, and they were able to compete in spring practice.
Enrolling early also helped them to become friends and now business partners who share a passion for working hard outdoors.
“I saw a lot of the guys on the team getting jobs, so I just try to stay busy in the summer,” said Van Ness, who is the younger brother of former Iowa defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness, who now plays for the Green Bay Packers. “We both early enrolled, so we were here for spring ball. And then getting into the summer, we were realizing that we kind of have a lot of down time.
“You work hard in the mornings, but after that, a lot of the days, we have a meal later in the day. But other than that, there’s not much. So, we were kind of thinking of ideas that we could stay active and stay outside and make some money and this is what we came to.”
Hoffman used to have a lawn-mowing business in his hometown of Leawood, Kansas.
So, when he saw his new Iowa teammates getting summer jobs, he and Van Ness decided to create their own jobs.
“I just like staying busy during the summer and just helping people,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman and Van Ness had no idea my neighborhood on the east side of Iowa City even existed until they drove through it on Tuesday.
Their job as movers will allow them to see parts of Iowa City and the surrounding areas that they probably never would have seen during their time in college.
“I’ve never been out here before,” said Van Ness, who is from Barrington, Illinois.
The Iowa football team started summer workouts this week, with most of the activities occurring in the morning.
We didn’t talk much about football because I figured Hoffman and Van Ness needed a break from the daily grind.
Hoffman asked what I though about Tim Lester, and I said I liked the hire.
But mostly, we just made small talk because they had a job to do.
Hoffman and Van Ness are just getting started with this endeavor, so I figured I’d help them gain some exposure by writing an article for Hawk Fanatic.
They were very appreciative and were even willing to give their cell phone numbers to help gain customers.
“You can reach us through text or just give us a call,” Hoffman said. “Reach out.”
Gavin Hoffman: 224-249-0396
Devan Van Ness: 913-544-8402