D'Angelo Ponds
D'Angelo Ponds
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Two head coaches in three seasons, at two different programs. Three straight seasons of it now: All-America (SI) again in 2025. One game to point at: 9 tackles against Ohio State — Week 15, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- recognition record
- game log
How it ended
Three seasons at Indiana, 166 tackles, an All-American season (2025) — drafted at #50 overall by New York.
Career Arc
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA
Named All-American (2025)
2 selectors honored him
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Big Ten
Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Tom Allen → Curt Cignetti. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · NFL
New York2026 NFL rookie season
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Curt Cignetti
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 4 · EliteR12 · All-American
All-American. Named to an NCAA-recognized All-America team.
Recognition
Production
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA
Named All-American (2025)
2 selectors honored him
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Big Ten
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Indiana | 60 | 43 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | -- |
| 2024 | Indiana | 55 | 35 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | -- |
| 2023 | James Madison | 51 | 33 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | -- |
| Career | 166 | 111 | 10.5 | 0.0 | 30 | 7 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 15 · 2025
W 13–10
at Ohio State
9 TOT · 6 SOLO
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 3 on the road.
How he plays
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Rover
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Ronald Kent Jr.’s 2022 season.
Matches Ronald on
Differs from Ronald on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Elijah Palmer's junior season at Hawai'i (2025).
Matches Elijah on
Differs from Elijah on