a steady, old-school NIU safety with special-teams grit
Jody Van Laanen is a Northern Illinois safety whose game has been built on reliability, toughness, and special-teams value rather than flashy numbers. In 2009, he appeared in seven games and logged two solo tackles, and in 2010 he played in 11 games while making six tackles, including a half tackle for loss. He’s the kind of defender coaches trust for assignment soundness and back-end depth—more dependable glue than headline grabber. If you need a disciplined, blue-collar safety who’ll do the dirty work, he fits the bill.
