Indiana football sophomore cornerback D’Angelo Ponds was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, according to a Big Ten release. Ponds turned in a two-interception performance in the Hoosiers’ 31-17 victory over Washington on Oct. 26 at Memorial Stadium.
Ponds is only the sixth Hoosier defensive back to win the award since its inauguration in 1987 and the first since safety Jamar Johnson on Oct. 26, 2020, two days after Indiana’s dramatic victory over Penn State.
The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Ponds recorded his first career collegiate pick-six, intercepting Washington fifth-year senior quarterback Will Rogers III and returning it 67 yards for a touchdown. Ponds blitzed from the right side and secured Rogers’ tipped screen pass before outrunning the Huskies’ offense to the endzone.
Ponds’ pick-six, which was also his first interception as a Hoosier, occurred in the first quarter. He followed with another interception early in the second quarter, winning a jump ball against Washington redshirt sophomore receiver Denzel Boston, who’s seven inches taller.
Ponds, who transferred to Indiana from James Madison University in the spring, finished the game with five tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. The Miami native drew praise postgame from Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, who touted his consistency on a day-by-day basis.
“He's got good talent, but he's got competitive character,” Cignetti said postgame. “He's a competitor, and he wants to be great. He wants to be the best football player he can be, and he loves the process and everything that goes into that, and he's intelligent. A lot of pride down there in South Florida about being a baller, and he's a baller.”
Now, he has his first Big Ten accolade — which only adds substance to Cignetti’s claim that Ponds is proving he’s more than capable of playing in one of college football’s power conferences.
Indiana (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) returns to action at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against Michigan State at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Jhett Garrett (@jhettgarrett) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
