Omar Cooper, Jr. had the greatest catch in IU football history at Penn State in November.
But he doesn’t even count it as one of the top two standout plays of Indiana’s 2025 national championship season.
Cooper says Fernando Mendoza’s fourth quarter touchdown run in the final game was in his top two, along with D’Angelo Ponds pick-six against Oregon in the College Football Playoff national semifinal.
“That was just crazy,” Cooper, Jr. said on the New York Jets podcast of Ponds’ interception. “I was not expecting that.”
Nobody was expecting what happened on that tone-setting first play from scrimmage against the Ducks — except Ponds.
How much information did Ponds process before Oregon quarterback Dante Moore released the football?
A lot.
Quarterback’s footwork? Check.
Number of Oregon players running routes vs. staying in to protect the quarterback? Check.
Number of Oregon receivers on his side of the field? Check.
Who he’s got for help on his side of the field? Check.
While the average fan watched the ball, Ponds processed the play like a supercomputer.
“I see quick game with the quarterback’s footwork,” Ponds said. “He he took a three-step drop which I know the ball has to come out fast because he didn’t drop back. It would have been five to seven for it to be a deeper route.
“So reading footwork, seeing they release five guys out as well, so that means they don’t really have a lot of time to throw the ball deep either. I knew the ball had to come out fast. So basically I never got into my pedal, just keeping leverage and broke on the ball.”
But playing in the Indiana defense means reading keys is only part of the equation.
Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines trusts his players to rely their instincts. A player like Ponds, with elite speed and athleticism, along with experience in the scheme, has the freedom to make judgment calls on the fly.
Ponds was supposed to be back in zone, covering the deep third of the field on that game-opening play. But because he had a good sense for what was coming, and because he knew Mikail Kamara was unlikely to be able to make a play on the ball from his defensive end spot, Ponds improvised.
“We were in cover three,” Ponds said. “But me knowing my flat player (Kamara), he’s a D-lineman. We’re not expecting him to get to the flat.
“I’m a third, which means I have deep responsibility. But me having one threat to my side, I used my keys that I knew the ball had to come out fast, and broke on the ball. If they were to pump fake it or anything, I would have to get back to my third. But it was just kind of a risk (worth taking) knowing my flat player was a D lineman and knowing the players on the field.”
Was it something Indiana saw on film when studying Oregon, or was it Ponds just making a play?
“Yes,” Haines said after the game. “It was both of those things. Every offense has tells. D’Angelo Ponds knew that was gonna happen. And he took a shot at it. And I’m glad he did. Great play.”
It was a play that catapulted Ponds up NFL Draft boards.
“At the Combine, every coach started the meeting with that play right there, asking me to what I saw and to break down the play,” Ponds said.
And despite the doubts about his size Ponds has been hearing for years, the Jets took him in the second round of the NFL Draft.
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