After a national championship and three straight years as an All-American, IU football cornerback D’Angelo Ponds said Thursday morning he intends to enter the NFL Draft.
Ponds made the comment to the assembled media at an event at Raising Cane’s in Bloomington.
A true junior, Ponds has a year of eligibility remaining, but little to prove at the college level.
Ponds is currently the No. 5 rated cornerback on ESPN’s Mel Kiper, Jr.’s 2026 NFL Draft board.
He was named Defensive MVP of both the Rose Bowl and Peach Bowl on Indiana’s postseason journey to a 16-0 season and a national championship. He got the Hoosiers off to a dramatic start in their national semifinal win over Oregon with a interception and a touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage.
Ponds earned All-American and All-Big Ten honors in each of the last two seasons in Bloomington, and he was a freshman All-American at James Madison in 2023.
The 5-foot-9 and 173-pound Ponds has seven interceptions, 169 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss over his three-year career. He added 37 pass breakups, blocked two punts, and has two punt returns scores for a touchdown.
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