What a ‘Baller’ – Despite Accolades, Ponds Expects More
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Accolades come, and D’Angelo Ponds wants more, demands more, not in awards or fame, but in the performances that generate them. Satisfaction isn’t in his nature, reflective of a “Miami baller” background the Indiana sophomore cornerback fully embraces.
“I can play way better,” he says.
It’s hard to see how as the No. 13 Hoosiers (8-0 overall, 5-0 in the Big Ten) prepare for Saturday’s game at Michigan State (4-4, 2-3).
Ponds’ two-interception performance against Washington, including a 67-yard pick-6, plus five tackles, earned him three major national weekly honors -- Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week, Lott IMPACT Trophy National Defensive Player of the Week, and Jim Thorpe National Defensive Back of the Week.
He's the first Hoosier to receive Nagurski and Thorpe recognition, and the second to win a national defensive award. Linebacker Micah McFadden, now with the NFL’s New York Giants, won Walter Camp Foundation National Defensive Player of the Week recognition in 2020.
That followed winning Big Ten Defensive-Player-of-the-Week honors for a Washington performance that left him as the highest-graded defensive back among Power 4 conference teams that week at 93.5 according to Pro Football Focus.
“He’s got talent, but he’s got competitive character,” head coach Curt Cignetti says. “He wants to be great.
“He’s got day-in, day-out consistency. He does the things that help him improve on a daily basis. That’s his goal.”
It’s working. The 5-9, 170-pound Ponds ranks fourth on the Hoosiers with 40 tackles, second in pass breakups with five and shares the team lead with two interceptions. Every week, he covers the opposing team’s best receiver, most of whom are bigger.
“This is the reason I came to the Big Ten, to play against top competition,” he says.
Opposing quarterbacks might see Ponds as a size mismatch to exploit.
Bad idea, IU defensive lineman Mikail Kamara says.
“If I’m a quarterback, I’m throwing the ball his way, too, seeing some of the (big) receivers out there. But he just has the dog in him. I don’t know if it’s his technique, mentality or whatever. He knows if the ball is coming, he’s going to make a play on it regardless.
“I’ve seen quarterbacks throw at him and it never works. They keep trying and it never works.”
Still, Ponds says he grades himself a B-minus or a C.
“I know I can do better with my ball production. I want more (interceptions). I only have two. I’m working on that.”
Cignetti saw this potential and competitive spirit while recruiting Ponds to James Madison out of Miami’s Chaminade Madonna High School. As a senior, Ponds’ 77 tackles and seven pass breakups helped Chaminade Madonna go 14-0 and win a Florida state title. He also won a pair of state track titles in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.
“There’s a lot of pride in South Florida about being a baller,” Cignetti says. “He’s a baller.”
Still, Ponds was considered a three-star prep prospect with Syracuse as his only major-conference scholarship offer. He went to James Madison and earned freshman All-American honors in his one season there.
“He wants to be the best player he can be,” Cignetti says. “He loves the process and everything that goes into that, and he’s intelligent.”
Ponds’ credits his Miami high school roots, and the “baller” reputation Cignetti mentioned.
“It helps me a lot,” Ponds says. “It’s a football place. In my opinion, it’s where the best football is played.”
If Ponds says this with a healthy dose of bias, can you blame him? Florida, after all, is considered one of the country’s most talent-rich states.
“I’ve played football since I was 4. It’s all I know.”
What is it about the area that produces quality players?
“People call it Florida water,” Ponds says with a smile. “I don’t know what it is. I know a lot of people grow up playing football. Like me, it’s all they know. That’s what it is.”
Ponds joins fellow James Madison transfers Aiden Fisher (team-leading 75 tackles at linebacker), Jailin Walker (48 tackles at linebacker), Kamara (team-leading 10 tackles for loss and seven sacks, three quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles) and Elijah Sarratt (33 catches, 590 yards, three touchdowns at receiver) in thriving on a Big Ten stage.
“It means a lot to be able to play on this level,” Ponds says, “but I’ve seen what people were saying about us at the beginning of the year, and we aren't satisfied yet. We're not done.”
As far as the perception between the Big Ten and the Sun Belt conferences, Ponds says, “There’s not too much of a difference for me at all. The game is slowing down.”
Ponds credits going against receiving teammates Sarratt and Myles Price (25 catches, 319 yards, one touchdown) for his improvement.
“Those guys are the best in country, in my opinion. Going against them in practice makes me more prepared. In practice, we’re going at it. When it’s good on good, iron sharpens iron. It makes us better.”
IU would set a school record for consecutive victories by beating Michigan State. The 1967 and ’45 teams also won eight0-straight games. Ponds says the Hoosiers aren’t focused on that.
“We’re kind of aware, but not really,” he says. “We want to go 1-0 each week. We’re definitely not satisfied. We didn’t come here just to go 8-0.”
Michigan State dropped a 24-17 rivalry contest at Michigan last Saturday. Quarterback Aidan Chiles completes 61.0 percent of his passes for 1,657 yards, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He’s also rushed for 172 yards and three TDs.
The Spartans have three receivers with at least 27 catches. Montorie Foster Jr. leads with 31 catches for 418 yards and two touchdowns. Nick Marsh has 28 catches for 475 yards and two touchdowns.
“They like to take shots,” Ponds says. “They like a lot of play-action and like to go deep. Their quarterback has a strong arm. They run a lot of option. We have to be patient.”
Michigan State will wear its “Black Shadows” uniforms for the first time this season on Saturday. It has drawn more than 70,000 fans in three of its four home games at Spartan Stadium.
The Hoosiers prepared for a raucous atmosphere by pumping in crowd noise during practice.
“People will say all kinds of things,” Ponds says. “We just tune the crowd out.”