MIAMI BEACH — When D’Angelo Ponds left South Florida, he was a fringe prospect listed as the No. 1,966 recruit in the 2023 class. He was headed to James Madison University, a Sun Belt team one year removed from playing in the FCS division.
Ponds, a Chaminade-Madonna alum, is back in South Florida now, looking to beat his hometown team, the Miami Hurricanes, and win a championship with Indiana at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday night.
“It’s definitely a full circle moment for me,” Ponds said. “Just going to a stadium that I drove past every day — I live probably like five minutes away from the stadium — it’s just definitely a full-circle moment. Just watching the teams play in that stadium as well, and being my hometown, it’s definitely a blessing.”
Ponds was not expected to become a star player. Ponds, who was a South Florida Sun Sentinel All-County second-team pick as a senior, is 5 foot 9, which is considered short for a cornerback. But then-James Madison coach Curt Cignetti did not care about that.
“He was a guy who didn’t look at the size. He looked at the film,” Ponds said. “He was a guy who actually watched the film and (saw) how it affects the game instead of looking at size and letting that dictate me as a player. He was a guy who is going to play the best player on the field no matter how old you are or anything like that.”
Ponds rewarded Cignetti’s faith immediately.
“You saw it in camp right away,” Cignetti said. “First week of camp, he’s out there, he was holding a little bit, but he cleaned that up and became a starter. When he became my starter my last year at JMU, I think it was down at Troy … they had won the Sun Belt the year before, and we beat them at Troy. He started and he made plays right off the bat, first series that impacted the game, and he’s been a great player ever since.”
Ponds ended his first season with 51 tackles, 13 pass breakups and two interceptions. Pro Football Focus gave him an 89.6 defensive grade, which was eighth in the nation. He was named a Sun Belt All-Conference second-team selection and an FWAA Freshman All-American.
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“He’s been a great player,” said UM wide receiver Jojo Trader, who was teammates with Ponds in high school. “He’s been doubted his whole life because he’s small and stuff like that. But he’s got grit and he’s just hungry.”
When Cignetti left for Indiana after the 2023 season, Ponds deliberated on his future. After going through spring football at James Madison, Ponds opted to follow Cignetti to Indiana.
“He might be the best player I’ve ever coached that was with me throughout his entire career, in terms of consistency, production,” Cignetti said.
Ponds’ play has not slipped since he arrived in the Big 10. In 2024, he was a second-team All-American. He had another strong season in 2025, making 56 tackles with two interceptions — one of which was a game-opening pick-six against Oregon in the playoff semifinals.
“It’s been a blessing, honestly, … taking advantage of all my opportunities that I’ve gotten, not letting any doubters or naysayers affect me at all, and just to keep going and see how far I came,” Ponds said. “It’s just a blessing just to honestly prove everybody wrong and let the smaller guys know that they can do it, too, as well. I feel like a lot of those guys, they look up to me, and I feel like I’m just letting them know that they can do it.
Although the hometown Hurricanes overlooked him in his recruitment, Ponds said there are no hard feelings. He just wants to win on Monday.
“It’s just another game to me, honestly,” Ponds said. “It’s a national championship, an important one, but we’re just here to win a game.”
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2026/01/18/um-indiana-ponds/
