Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Indiana defensive back D’Angelo Ponds opened up the scoring in the Peach Bowl with the pick-six that kicked off the 56-22 rout of Oregon. The Hoosiers will be hoping to bring a title back to Bloomington when they face off against Miami in the national championship, and the city is now home to a pond that was appropriately named after him.
College football’s NIL Era has been the target of a ton of criticism due to the many instances where student-athletes have received overinflated deals from companies linked to boosters who aren’t actually trying to get any major return on their investment.
With that said, there have been plenty of objectively fantastic exercises in corporate synergy in the form of NIL deals that make a ton of sense from a marketing standpoint, including General Booty’s partnership with an underwear company and Kool-Aid McKinstry’s agreement with the drink brand that inspired his nickname.
Indiana DB D’Angelo Ponds isn’t affiliated with any major brands, but the man who followed Curt Cignetti from James Madison in 2024 has managed to leverage his profile into his very own body of water in the city the Hoosiers call home.
Bloomington temporarily dedicated a pond to D’Angelo Ponds ahead of Indiana’s showdown with Miami in the national championship
D’Angelo Ponds earned Freshman All-American honors during his first and only season at JMU, and he’s emerged as a valuable contributor since transferring to Indiana as a sophomore in 2024.
The DB had 55 tackles and three interceptions during his first year with the Hoosiers, and he’s matched the former total this year while forcing a fumble and snagging two more picks—including the one he took to the house during the first snap of the Peach Bowl.
Ponds was named the Defensive MVP in a contest where he also recorded six tackles, and on Tuesday, he received another honor courtesy of the city of Bloomington, which announced a retaining pool in Miller-Showers Park has been temporarily renamed “D’Angelo’s Pond” in the lead-up to the national championship.
How can you not love college football?