Maine South’s Peter Skoronski, Barrington’s Lukas Van Ness make state history at NFL draft

For the first time in NFL draft history, two former Illinois high school football players were selected in the first round.

And both were from northwest Cook County.

Northwestern offensive lineman Peter Skoronski, a Maine South graduate, was selected by the Tennessee Titans with the 11th pick Thursday night at the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City. Just a few minutes later, Iowa defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness, a Barrington grad, was selected by the Green Bay Packers with the 13th pick.

It was a great night for both players and their families as they gathered to watch the draft with friends and former coaches.

Skoronski watched the draft in Chicago at a restaurant in Wicker Park.

Maine South head coach Dave Inserra said that that he always knew that this day would come for Skoronski.

“It was just everything about him that made him so special,” Inserra said. “He is a student of the game. His footwork is impeccable. And it is something he continually works on. He will be a great player. This is a pinnacle moment for me as a head coach.”

According to most analysts, Skoronski should be a Day 1 starter for the Titans.

Van Ness was with his family and friends at a family home, coincidentally in Wisconsin. Barrington head coach Joe Sanchez, who was at the celebration, said that his former player has grown exponentially since his days at Barrington.

“Lukas was not the traditional high school football player,” Sanchez said. “He still is growing by leaps and bounds. He still has a ton more that he can get better. And he knows that as well. Just being there, to see it live and see one of your players and share that moment is a surreal experience.”

[ How Barrington native Lukas Van Ness went from relative unknown to potential top-10 draft pick ]

Van Ness, who was flying up the draft board in recent months, becomes the first Mid Suburban League player drafted in the first round. He will fill a need as an edge rusher for the Packers.

Both Skoronski and Van Ness played against each other in college this past season. But the duo first met back in 2018.

It was a warm September Friday night in Park Ridge when they lined up across from each other.

The packed house at Maine South came to see a clash between perennial football powers. Barrington would rally to beat Maine South 26-23 on a double pass with just over three minutes to play.

It was the first meeting between the pair, but it was not the last.

The two would go on to have battles when they played against each other in Big Ten games. Skoronski starred at Northwestern the past three seasons while Van Ness really began to shine this past season at Iowa.

The Titans and Packers are not scheduled to play each other this season. They are scheduled to meet in 2024.

Both opted to come out early for the draft. Their decisions paid huge dividends for each with their first-round selections.

Van Ness and Skoronski are not the first players in the NFL from their respective schools.

Barrington’s Scotty Miller was drafted in the sixth round in 2019 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He just signed a free-agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons.

Dave Butz, who played at Maine South in the late 1960s, was a first-round draft pick in 1973 by Washington. Butz died in November at the age of 72.

Maine South currently has Kevin Jarvis in the NFL. Jarvis was signed with Detroit Lions as a free agent coming out of college in 2022. He recently signed with the Buffalo Bills.

The last player picked in the first round from the state of Illinois was Corey Davis, who was selected in 2017 as the fifth overall pick in the draft by the Tennessee Titans. Davis played high school football for Wheaton South and college football at Western Michigan. He currently plays for the New York Jets.