Indiana Football Defender Gets ‘Most Underrated’ Distinction From NFL Draft Scout originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Indiana Hoosiers shocked the college football world last season, outshining top tier college football programs including the Alabama Crimson Tide and Michigan Wolverines as they made the first ever 12-team College Football Playoff.
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A first round loss to in-state rival Notre Dame showed that coach Curt Cignetti’s team has what it takes to compete with elite programs but also showed how far the Hoosiers have to go.
On Thursday, one of the team’s top returning players was spotlighted by an NFL draft scout with the dawn of the 2025-26 season just weeks away.
“Indiana CB D’Angelo Ponds had an unreal performance against Washington, locking up Denzel Boston and grabbing two picks,” scout Jonah Tuls wrote on X.
“He’s not the biggest player, but he’s just so controlled. Elite mirror/match quickness in man coverage, good ball skills, and disciplined vs. run,” he added.
“One of the most underrated corners in the country.”
The Ponds report came two days after a bullish prediction on the Hoosiers from a former SEC quarterback. A fellow former SEC star, David Pollack, shared his thoughts on IU potentially making some noise again this season.
Ponds is a 5-foot-9, 170 pound junior cornerback who played his first season at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
He has 21 pass break-ups and five interceptions so far in his young college football career and has returned two punts including one for a touchdown with the Dukes.
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Cignetti’s opportunistic defense will be put to the test starting in week one against the Old Dominion Monarchs with Kenesaw State and Indiana State rounding out the IU coach’s SEC inspired non-confernece schedule.
A home matchup against Bret Bielema’s Illinois Fighting Illini followed by road trips to Iowa and Oregon will test the Hoosiers’ College Football Playoff mettle early leading up to a marquee game against second-ranked Penn State in Happy Valley on November 8.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
