Colleges weren't too interested in D'Angelo Ponds when he was at Chaminade-Madonna. Now, he's a big reason Indiana is on the verge of a national title.
In just one play, Indiana cornerback D'Angelo Ponds set the tone for the College Football Playoff semifinal, made a lot of smart football coaches look very foolish and put a smile on Dameon Jones' face.
On the first play from scrimmage of the Peach Bowl, Ponds intercepted Oregon's Dante Moore and returned the pick for a score.
Ponds, a Chaminade-Madonna graduate, has been one of the biggest stars of the College Football Playoffs. He took home Defensive MVP honors in both of Indiana's wins.
D'ANGELO PONDS PICK SIX TO START THE GAME#PMSCFPpic.twitter.com/H1EbdHqOQy
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 10, 2026
"I'm just grateful for him because he works his tail off," said Jones, Chaminade-Madonna's coach. "I'm just happy for him. Just happy for him to get MVP two games in a row. He's a deserving kid who doesn’t do a lot of talking. Kids like that don’t get the accolades because they don’t say much, so I’m really happy for him."
Now, Ponds headed back home to South Florida as the Hoosiers take on Miami for the national championship on Jan. 19. He leads an Indiana secondary that has three players from Florida high schools in the starting lineup. Cornerback Jamari Sharpe (Miami Northwestern) and Amare Ferrell (Columbus) are the others.
Ponds, an All-American, has been the headliner. Not bad for a kid who was literally overlooked coming out of high school.
College coaches weren't interested in the 5-foot-9, 173 pounds. It didn't matter that he was starting for one of the best high school defenses in the nation. It didn't matter that he was holding his own against Jeremiah Smith and Jojo Trader in practice. He just wasn't big enough.
"Just the height. Just the height," Jones said. "That’s the only way. Everybody looks like a dumb coach now who passed up on him. I had conversations with everybody. They would say, 'Yeah, he has track speed but he's undersized.' It's one of those ordeals."
Ponds signed with Curt Cignetti at James Madison in the 2023 class and made an immediate impact for the Dukes. He had 15 tackles, 23 pass breakups and two interceptions and earned Freshman All-American honors.
Cignetti made the move to Indiana after the 2023 season, but Jones said Ponds almost didn't go with him.
"He wasn’t sure wanted he wanted to go because he was comfortable at JMU," Jones said. "He didn’t care about going to a big-time program. He doesn't care about those kinds of things. He's different that way."
Transferring to Indiana two years ago now has Ponds on the verge of a national championship.
"I think he’ll be all right," Jones said of Ponds returning to South Florida for what could be his final college game. "He’s going to be excited, getting a chance to play down here. He’ll be excited as hell."
Here's a closer look at the three Florida players in Indiana's secondary:
S Amare Ferrell
Junior
High school: Columbia
2025: 47 tackles, two tackles for loss, four interceptions, seven pass breakups, second team All-Big Ten
Ferrell was a three-star recruit a senior and picked Indiana over offers from Florida State, Miami, Penn State, Tennessee and others. He has started every game for the Hoosiers the past two seasons, recording eight interceptions and eight passes defended.
CB D'Angelo Ponds
Junior
High School: Chaminade-Madonna
2025: 56 tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions, eight passes defended, first-team All-Big Ten, first-team All-American, Rose Bowl Defensive MVP, Peach Bowl Defensive MVP
Ponds was a three-star recruit who signed with James Madison over Syracuse, Tulane, Akron and others. In his three-year college career, he has 164 tackles, seven interceptions and 30 pass breakups.
CB Jamari Sharpe
Redshirt junior
High school: Miami Northwestern
2025: 44 tackles, six tackles for loss, five passes defended, four forced fumbles
Sharpe was a three-star recruit who picked Indiana over offers from Georgia Tech, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri and others. Sharpe has started every game this season, his first year as a full-time starter for the Hoosiers.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Indiana All-American D'Angelo Ponds has gone from overlooked to hero
Category: General Sports
