Competitive Spirit Fuels Ponds’ Rock-Your-World Play
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana All-American cornerback D’Angelo Ponds rocks your world when necessary, under-sized perception be darned.
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson can vouch for that.
The 5-foot-9, 173-pound Ponds knocked the 6-foot-2, 208-pound Simpson out of last Thursday’s Rose Bowl with a bruising shot to the ribs that forced fumble IU recovered. Physicality rivals speed and finesse at the top of Ponds’ skill set. Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines makes the most of it while matching Ponds against some of the nation’s top receivers. Oregon has several, including Malik Benson (41 catches, 696 yards, six touchdowns) and Kenyon Sadiq (46, 531, eight).
That will come into play during Friday night’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl playoff semifinal showdown between the top-seeded Hoosiers (14-0) and fifth-seeded Oregon (13-1).
What sets Ponds apart?
“It’s a combination of mental, physical, and work ethic,” Haines says. “I’ll talk about the physical skill set first. He is a very sudden, twitchy, loose-hipped athlete. He has great body control.
“His ability to stay sticky with a receiver is his best physical quality whether he’s pressing you or playing zone reactive. He can plant, point, drive, and cover ground.
“Because he has great body control, he can also make plays on the ball in the air, which is important because you can have a 6-foot-3 cornerback, but they never have their body or feet to jump to the ball, so they’re not playing at 6-foot-3. Because D’Angelo has elite body control, he can rise up and jump to the ball in the air.
“As far as his mental ability, I can’t say enough about his film study. He is in the same category as (linebackers Aiden Fisher and Isaiah Jones) in how smart they are. He understands splits and release points, different RPOs. He has a great mind for the game.”
Bone-jarring hits might not be Ponds’ main weapon, but those who under-estimate him because of his size pay a big price. It’s a motivator for him, another way to show opponents he’s one bad dude on a football field.
"I've been hearing that I'm undersized my whole life. It made me who I am today. A lot of people see it as a disadvantage. I see it as an advantage. I'm way faster than guys. I’ve got good technique. I have better feet than most of the taller guys. That’s why (his size) is a plus for me. It's easier for me to move. I can move fluidly. I feel like that's what makes me excel as a player.”
Haines won’t argue that. He’s a big believer in Ponds’ difference-making play and fierce competitiveness.
“His competitive spirit is elite,” Haines says. “He won’t let you catch a ball in walkthrough, not in practice, not in a circuit, not in individuals. He will compete with every fiber in his body on every play, and that’s unique.”
Uniqueness includes a team-leading eight pass breakups, a blocked punt against Illinois he returned for a touchdown, a forced fumble, one interception and 50 total tackles, 3.5 for loss.
Not bad for a guy who was under-recruited despite a standout career at Miami’s Chaminade Madonna High School.
“I would say having that chip on my shoulder comes from hearing I'm undersized, being under-recruited out of high school, always overlooked,” Ponds says about his motivational fire. “I would say that's where it comes from. Just that dog in me. It comes from being overlooked. I always thought I never got the credit from what I was putting on the field, and I just prove that every day.”
So do all the Hoosiers amid unprecedented program success that includes their first Rose Bowl victory, first No. 1 ranking, first Big Ten title game win, and first outright conference championship since 1945.
“Words can't describe the feelings we're going through right now,” Ponds says. “We're just taking it one day at a time, try to go 1-and-0 each week.
“I haven't really thought on the season and how well it's gone. I would say after the season I will probably do that and look back on it. Right now, we're just trying to go 1-and-0 each week.”