JMU transfer defensive back D'Angelo Ponds commits to Indiana Hoosiers
Yet another former James Madison player has followed their old head coach in the transfer portal. JMU transfer defensive back D’Angelo Ponds committed to the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday afternoon. He announced the move via his own Twitter page.
Indiana hired James Madison’s old head football coach this offseason, Curt Cignetti, after he helped lead the Dukes to one of the most successful seasons in program history in the 2023-2024 campaign.
Ponds was one of the most highly sought-after defensive back prospects in the transfer portal, securing 22 scholarship offers since entering on April 26th. Ponds had offers from Auburn, Miami, Tennessee, USC, Arizona, Duke, Vanderbilt, Illinois, Indiana, Wake Forest, SMU, Boston College, Houston, and others.
Ponds had an incredible season for James Madison in 2023 and was named an On3 True Freshman All-American. He totaled 52 tackles, 13 pass breakups, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Ponds ranked tied for second in the Sun Belt Conference in passes defended (15), third in pass breakups (13), and tied for fifth in the Sun Belt in fumble recoveries.
D’Angelo Ponds played high school football at Chaminade-Madonna Prep (FL), where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 1,638 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was a critical piece in guiding Chaminade-Madonna to back-to-back FHSAA state championships. Ponds also reached the 3A state championship game in 2020 and was part of the 2019 state championship team. A dynamic dual-sport athlete, Ponds was also a state qualifier in track and field.
JMU is coming off one of its most successful seasons in school history in 2023. The Dukes finished 11-2 overall and even had a national appearance on College GameDay ahead of their highly anticipated matchup with Appalachian State on Nov. 18th. JMU punched their tickets to their first bowl game ever this year, the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. They lost to Air Force in that one, 31-21. At one point in the season, JMU won 10 straight games, but a few of those were really close (36-35 win over Virginia), (16-14 win over Troy), (30-27 win over Old Dominion).
On3’s Barkley Truax also contributed to this article.