Indiana Cornerback D’Angelo Ponds Impressing Curt Cignetti With Coverage Skills

James Madison transfer cornerback D’Angelo Ponds has impressed coach Curt Cignetti in the early stages of fall camp after picking the Hoosiers over several big-name programs. “I don’t know if we’ve beat him yet on a pass route,” Cignetti said.

Jack Ankony | Aug 6, 2024

Indiana cornerback D'Angelo Ponds pictured during fall camp on Thursday. / Indiana Athletics

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Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Following a freshman All-American season at James Madison in 2023, D’Angelo Ponds was a hot commodity when he entered the transfer portal.

He drew interest from Auburn, Tennessee, USC, Miami (FL), Arizona, Illinois, Duke and many others. Despite the wide range of options, picking a new school was easy.

Ponds followed his James Madison coach, Curt Cignetti, to Indiana. He committed on May 4, giving Cignetti a cornerback who ranked 11th in the FBS last season with 15 passes defended and 13th among transfers at his position, per On3.

“It was really a no-brainer for me,” Ponds said after Tuesday’s practice. “Me already being successful in the system, my relationship with the coaches, it was really a no-brainer.”

Cignetti has been impressed with Ponds’ performance early on in Bloomington. He’s used to that from last season at James Madison, where Ponds received the 12th highest coverage grade among cornerbacks nationally (88.6) and ranked 25th among all FBS players in defense (89.9) by Pro Football Focus.

On Tuesday, he was College Football Network gave Ponds three awards: Preseason Big Ten Newcomer of the Year, Preseason Big Ten Defensive Newcomer of the Year, and Preseason Big Ten Defensive Transfer of the Year.

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Cignetti said the combination of Ponds’ mindset and talent is what makes him a good football player. But making the jump from the Sun Belt to the Big Ten provides a challenge for Ponds and his 12 James Madison teammates who followed their coach to Indiana. And positionally, Ponds’ challenge is as big as any.

Nearly one week into fall camp, Ponds, listed at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, has been going up against what could be Indiana’s top position group. The wide receiver room features the 6-foot-5 Donaven McCulley, Indiana’s leading receiver in 2023 who earned an All-Big Ten honorable mention, and Elijah Sarratt, a 6-foot-2 transfer from James Madison who made the All-Sun Belt first team last season.

Add transfers like Myles Price from Texas Tech, Miles Cross from Ohio and Ke’Shawn Williams from Wake Forest to talented returning Hoosiers such as Omar Cooper Jr., Andison Coby and E.J. Williams Jr., and Ponds has a formidable opponent every rep.

Confident but not cocky, Ponds said no one specifically has given him problems at practice despite admittedly being undersized. He feels there’s an iron-sharpens-iron dynamic between him and the receivers.

“I feel like we’ve got one of the better receiver rooms in the conference,” Ponds said. “We just get each other better every day. Going against those guys gets me better, so when the game comes, it’s easy.”

And from the coach’s perspective so far, so good.

“I don’t know if we’ve beat [Ponds] yet on a pass route,” Cingetti said after Monday’s practice. “He’s just swallowing that side of the field. So he’s a good guy for everybody else to watch in terms of how to do it.”

Ponds’ success at the college level was a bit unexpected, at least right away. Cignetti said he showed “special qualities” in preseason fall camp, but he had to clean up his technique. Ponds played just 18 snaps in James Madison’s first two games, 14 of which came on special teams.

But the Dukes’ defense was struggling against the pass, allowing 377 passing yards and 18.9 yards per completion in a 36-35 win at Virginia. So Cignetti gave the freshman a chance, and he ran with it.

Ponds played 68 snaps in a Week 3 win at Troy, then he logged 91 and 90 snaps in wins at Utah State and against South Alabama in Weeks 4 and 5, respectively. He became a mainstay at cornerback the rest of the year on a James Madison defense that ranked 18th in the nation in points allowed per game at 18.5.

“When we did that, it was really a shot in the arm for our entire defense,” Cignetti said. “...Great competitor. Super intelligent. Can really move, play the ball in the air.”

Reflecting on his freshman year, Ponds said he approached the season with the mentality that he had to earn his stripes and prove to everyone that he could play. Now a newcomer at Indiana, he’s carrying the same mindset.

Ponds is working with Indiana’s new cornerbacks coach, Rod Ojong, who most recently coached UNC Charlotte defensive backs following recent stints at Buffalo and Georgia. Ponds said technique is key in one-on-one coverage, which is something Ojong consistently preaches.

While Ojong was an outside hire, Ponds’ familiarity with defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ system from his time at James Madison has aided his transition to a new school.

“The way the scheme is set up, the corners are really on an island, so that’s why it’s big on technique,” Ponds said. “If you don’t trust your technique on an island and you’re by yourself, you’re literally by yourself, so you gotta trust your technique.”

Indiana’s cornerback room took a hit when 2023 starter Kobee Minor, an All-Big Ten honorable mention, left for Memphis. But Cignetti said it was a “big get” to land Ponds during the spring transfer portal cycle. And if Indiana is to fulfill the type of turnaround Cignetti envisions, Ponds’ coverage skills will be part of the reason why.

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