D’Angelo Ponds’ side of the field is going to need a nickname if he lives up to the preseason hype.
The Frozen Pond?
That could work, because at fall camp, not much is happening for the offense when he’s around.
All defenses are better if they have cornerbacks they can trust in one-on-one matchups, and Ponds is just fine with being left alone in space.
Defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ scheme is based on an aggressive style. They take risks. And that leaves Ponds in a lot of sink-or-swim scenarios.
“I feel like the way the scheme is set up, the corners are really on the island,” Ponds said. “So that’s why it’s big on technique. If you don’t trust your technique on the island, you’re literally by yourself, so you got to trust your technique.”
It would have been difficult for Ponds to have had a much better freshman season at James Madison.
He appeared in 13 games with 10 starts and was tabbed a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and was a semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award.
Head coach Curt Cignetti says inserting Ponds into the starting lineup gave the entire defense a shot in the arm.
He was a second-team All-Sun Belt pick after he posted 13 pass breakups and two interceptions. His 15 passes defended ranked No. 11 in the FBS, and he finished with 51 tackles – 32 solo – to go along with 2.0 sacks.
According to Pro Football Focus, Ponds had the best coverage grade in the nation for a true freshman defensive back.
Now Ponds is going against one of the best receiver rooms in the Big Ten.
And the early reviews suggest the 5-foot-9 and 170-pound Ponds is ready to make a splash at the Power Four level.
Donaven McCulley has NFL potential if it all comes together this season. He’s been lining up against Ponds every day. What does McCulley think of Ponds?
“He’s real good. I like going against him every day. He makes me better,” McCulley said.
Truth be told, both sides are pushing one another this month.
“I feel like we’ve got one of the better receiver rooms in the conference,” Ponds said. “We just get each other better every day. Going against those guys gets me better, so when the game comes, it’s easy.”
The highest praise of Ponds came from his head coach, the man he followed from JMU to Indiana.
Cignetti seems reluctant to heap too much praise on anyone. He preaches constant improvement, and never being content with where you are.
But Cignetti didn’t mince words when it came to his sophomore cornerback.
Ponds? His side of the field has been frozen.
“I don’t know if we’ve beat [Ponds] yet on a pass route,” Cingetti said recently. “He’s just swallowing that side of the field. So he’s a good guy for everybody else to watch in terms of how to do it.”
