D'Angelo Ponds

Former defensive back at Indiana. 2025: 2 interceptions, 10 pass breakups, 60 tackles.

DB · Indiana · Jr. · #5

5′9″ · 170 lb · West Park, FL

CFB Index 81 · #37 of 364 cornersLow confidenceAll-AmericanDrafted by New York — Rd 2, Pick 18, #50 overall

On production he ranks #37 of 364 corners; on reputation he is an All-American. The gap between those two numbers is the story.

How he plays

Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.

Passes defended: 99th percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

interceptions · 2025

10 PBU · 60 tackles · 4 TFL

Best game: 1 INT, 6 tackles, vs Oregon

His career numbers, season by season

The story

Former defensive back at Indiana. 2025: 2 interceptions, 10 pass breakups, 60 tackles.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to James Madison in 2023.
Drafted round 2 by the New York in 2026.
Named All-America (SI) in 2025.

The full story, with sources

How it ended

Three seasons at Indiana, 166 tackles, an All-American season (2025) — drafted at #50 overall by New York.

His career

He was winning awards before he was old enough to be a story.

202312 games

Signed with James Madison3-star out of Chaminade-Madonna
All-Sun Beltsecond

202413 games

All-Big Tenfirst

202515 games

All-Big Tenfirst
All-America2 selectors

2026

Drafted by New Yorkround 2, pick 50

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#2070 national

CFB

College

2 teams

2023–2025

NFL

NFL Draft

R2 · #50

New York · 2026

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

7 honors · 2 categories

🥇

ALL-AMERICA

Named All-American (2025)

2 selectors honored him

🥈

ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM

All-Big Ten 1st team (2025)

Coaching lineage · 2023–2025

2 coaches

2023

Tom Allen

Indiana

2024–2025

Curt Cignetti

Indiana

era →

Coaching transition mid-career: Tom Allen → Curt Cignetti. Worth noting in scheme + development context.

Where He Ended Up · NFL

New York2026 NFL rookie season

#50Rd 2 · Pick 18

New York2026 NFL rookie season

View college career stats ↓

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2023James Madison11-2HC: Damian Wroblewski · Balanced

2024Indiana11-2HC: Curt Cignetti · Run-leaning

2025Indiana16-0HC: Curt Cignetti · Run-heavy

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

81All-Conference level #37 of 364?

Low confidence7 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: passes defended (99th percentile). Strength: solo tackles (95th percentile). Concern: qb hurries (22nd percentile).

Box-score production (7)

Passes defended#20 / 2975 · 99th pct

Solo tackles#156 / 2975 · 95th pct

Tackles#401 / 2975 · 86th pct

Interceptions#114 / 817 · 75th pct

Tackles for loss#736 / 2975 · 73rd pct

4.0

Sacks#1575 / 2975 · 24th pct

0.0

QB hurries#1662 / 2975 · 22nd pct

Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 15 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home10g	3.8	0.4	0.0	0.8
Road5g	4.4	0.0	0.0	0.4

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-78g	3.6	0.4	0.0	0.5
Weeks 8+7g	4.4	0.1	0.0	0.9

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Curt Cignetti

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

All-American

Named to an All-America team by a recognized selector.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

81 · #37 of 364 corners

Three-star recruit. Now #37 at the position.

Selector Grid · 2025

AP—

FWAA—

AFCA—

WCFF—

SN—

SI—

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	Indiana	60	43	4.0	10	2	--
2024	Indiana	55	35	4.5	9	3	--
2023	James Madison	51	33	2.0	11	2	--
Career		166	111	10.5	30	7	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 15 · 2025

W 13–10

at Ohio State

9 TOT · 6 SOLO

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 3 on the road.

With F. Mendoza — 222 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · QBR 90.2 · -3 rush yds (5 car) · C. Becker — 6 rec · 126 yds

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week