BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s secondary took a hit on April 29 when starting cornerback Kobee Minor entered the transfer portal.

But new head coach Curt Cignetti acted quickly, landing James Madison cornerback transfer D’Angelo Ponds on May 4. While Cignetti and his staff had an established connection with Ponds from the 2023 season, they had to fend off the likes of Auburn, Miami, Tennessee, USC and others for Ponds, a 2023 Freshman All-American, who’s Indiana’s top-ranked incoming transfer, per On3.

Ponds was named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List on Wednesday, which included 18 defensive backs, 13 defensive linemen and 11 linebackers around the nation. The award, named after NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, considers both on-field talent and IMPACT, which stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity. Winners of the award include recent No. 2 and No. 3 overall NFL Draft picks Aidan Hutchinson and Will Anderson Jr.

“[Ponds] was a big get, I think,” Cignetti said. “But he’s going to have to earn it here. Nothing’s given. Everything is earned, not given, and that’s the way it’s got to be.”

Ponds had the best coverage grade (89.3) in the nation among true freshmen defensive backs in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus, ahead of players like Alabama’s Caleb Downs and Notre Dame’s Christian Gray. But like Cignetti mentioned, he had to earn his spot on a talented Dukes defense.

Ponds committed to James Madison out of Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Hollywood, Fla., as a three-star recruit ranked No. 1966 in the class of 2023, No. 170 among cornerbacks and No. 280 in Florida. He had offers from Akron, Arkansas State, Bryant, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Liberty, Louisiana-Monroe, Old Dominion, South Dakota, Syracuse and Tulane.

Cignetti said Ponds had “special qualities” in preseason fall camp, but he had to clean up his technique. Ponds played just 14 snaps in Week 1 and only four in Week 2. But James Madison’s defense was struggling against the pass, allowing 377 passing yards and 18.9 yards per completion in a 36-35 win at Virginia. So Cignetti gave the freshman a chance, and he ran with it.

Ponds played 68 snaps in a Week 3 win at Troy, then he logged 91 and 90 snaps in wins at Utah State and against South Alabama in Weeks 4 and 5, respectively. He became a mainstay at cornerback the rest of the year on a James Madison defense that ranked 18th in the nation in points allowed per game at 18.5.