Indiana
Freshman All-American Cornerback D’Angelo Ponds Brings Special Qualities to Indiana Football
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.
“When we did that, it was really a shot in the arm for our entire defense,” Cignetti said of Ponds moving into a starting role. “…Great competitor. Super intelligent. Can really move, play the ball in the air.”
Making the jump from the Sun Belt to the Big Ten will be a step up in competition and require an adjustment. But Patrick Mayhorn, who covers Group of 5 football for the website “Meet at Midfield,” believes Ponds, with three years of remaining eligibility, was a major addition for the Hoosiers.
“He was, I think, one of the best corners in America,” Mayhorn told HoosiersNow. “I don’t think I would really need to qualify that with one of the best corners in the G5 or one of the best corners in the Sun Belt. “
“He’s undersized [at 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds], but he is just so good in coverage. It’s so hard to get past him, and he can fill so many different roles for a defense because he’s also a capable, and I would say even a very good tackler, despite his relative lack of size. He was doing that in his first year at the Sun Belt level at the D1 level. He’s excellent. He’s really kind of a foundational piece for a defense, I think, moving forward, and that would have been true at James Madison and I think it’s going to be true at Indiana. That talent translates right away.”
Shane Mettlen, who covers James Madison for the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va., said Cignetti and his staff established a strong track record identifying talented players that recruiting sites overlooked and ranked lower. Often, this was with undersized players.
Mettlen believes Cignetti had a philosophy of going after speed rather than size, with the belief that a player could put on muscle after training with James Madison. They added players who they knew had speed to get to the ball – in line with their fast, physical and relentless mantra – and that players with all the desired measurables out of high school usually looked to attend Power 5 schools.
During the 2022 season, true freshman cornerback Chauncey Logan – unranked by 247Sports – led James Madison with 10 pass breakups. Ponds followed a similar path with his impressive true freshman season in 2023, despite not being a highly touted prospect from the outside.
“It kind of got to the point where it wasn’t a surprise if anybody did that at JMU, especially in the secondary,” Mettlen told HoosiersNow. “… Guys before Ponds who were a year ahead of him came in and kind of set the tone that if the coaching staff says that this guy can play, then you expect big things out of them even if their recruiting rankings and stuff were not up there.”
Indiana’s pass defense ranked 13th in the Big Ten last season. The loss of Minor, as well as starting safeties Louis Moore and Phillip Dunnam, made that a remaining area of concern heading into 2024.
The group is now coached by defensive backs and safeties coach Ola Adams, plus cornerbacks coach Rod Ojong. It returns 2023 contributors Jamari Sharpe, Jamier Johnson, Nic Toomer, Josh Sanguinetti and Amare Ferrell.
Like most of the roster, Indiana added transfers in the defensive backfield both by necessity and in hopes of improving from a 3-9 2023 season. Along with Arizona transfer DJ Warnell Jr., Austin Peay transfer Cedarius Doss and Old Dominion transfers Terry Jones Jr. and Shawn Asbury II, Ponds headlines that effort.
“There’s got to be competition. That’s what makes everybody better,” Cignetti said. “But I was thrilled we were able to get him.”
Indiana
Latest forecast: How much snow will Indiana get Friday? When will it fall?
The Bloomington area will get more snow today. Here’s how much the National Weather Service now expects to fall and when.
How much snow will Monroe County get Friday?
Aaron Updike, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis said the Bloomington area is expected to get between 2 and 4 inches of snow.
Southern parts of Indiana could see even more, with Bedford projected to get close to 4 inches and areas closer to Louisville possibly seeing 6 inches.
When will the snow fall today in the Bloomington area?
Updike said the NWS expects the snow to begin around 11 a.m. and end about 12 hours later. However, he said, the day will bring periods of lulls and peaks, though those are more difficult to predict.
Generally, Updike said, the heaviest accumulation will occur from mid-to-late afternoon, around 2 to 6 p.m.
He urged commuters to take extra time and care, as they may experience slippery roads and sidewalks on their way home.
What kind of snow will be falling in Indiana on Friday?
Updike said the snow should be light and fluffy. The NWS expects only light wind, with gusts of 10 to 15 mph, which means the area should not expect to see much drifting snow.
How cold will it get in the Bloomington area tonight?
The NWS projects that the cloud cover will hang around the area for a while, which will contribute to temperatures falling only to about 20 degrees.
Is there a chance of snowmelt any time soon in Indiana?
Updike said temperatures should rise to near freezing on Sunday, and the area also might see some pockets of sunshine, which should help melt some snow especially on pavement and roads.
However, he said temperatures will not rise enough in the next few days to melt all of the snow.
Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.
Indiana
Indiana Fever linked to trade for 2-time All-Star
Satou Sabally was immediately linked to the New York Liberty after announcing that she has played her final game for the Dallas Wings during Unrivaled Basketball’s media availability on Thursday. However, the Indiana Fever are another team who were recently mentioned as a possible trade suitor for the two-time All-Star, via Chloe Peterson of indystar.com.
Sabally’s announcement was the primary discussion swirling around the WNBA world on Thursday. The Wings will have the option to core Sabally, which will likely lead to a trade given her comments on Thursday. The chances of Dallas simply letting Sabally walk in free agency while passing on the option to core her are slim, but Sabally will likely still end up with a new team for the 2025 season.
The question is which team will she end up with? The defending-champion Liberty have Satou’s sister Nyara Sabally on the roster, so that may catch Satou’s attention. Joining an up-and-coming team like the Fever may also entice Satou, though.
There will be other candidates aside from Indiana and New York, of course. The Fever and Liberty both make sense as possible trade destinations for Satou Sabally, however. At only 26 years old, Sabally features the ceiling of a true superstar. If she can stay healthy, Sabally can significantly impact any team she joins.
Fever could trade for Satou Sabally
Sabally would add more star-power alongside Caitlin Clark in Indiana. Clark instantly became one of the most popular players in the WNBA in her rookie season during the 2024 campaign. Adding a star or two would help Indiana, though.
The Fever reached the postseason but were quickly eliminated in the first round. Indiana’s future remains bright, but they need to upgrade the roster around Clark. Sabally would turn the Fever into serious contenders.
If the Liberty find a way to acquire Sabally, however, the rest of the WNBA may be in trouble. With Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones already on the roster, the Liberty project to be a championship contender once again. Assuming Stewart returns, the Liberty will compete with or without Sabally, but adding her to the roster would turn New York into a super-team.
Sabally’s announcement on Thursday is already changing the landscape of the WNBA. Rumors will continue to swirl over the next few months. If Sabally is traded, which is seemingly expected at this point, whichever team acquires her will take a big step forward.
Indiana
Winter Weather Advisory issued for Friday morning across central Indiana
It was the coldest morning of the season so far across Central Indiana. For Indianapolis, we had our coldest temperatures since January 21, 2024 with a low of 5°. Crawfordsville and Columbus both had balmy lows of -8°. The clear skies, light winds and fresh snowpack allowed more heat to be released into the atmosphere. For tonight, it will still be chilly. But, we’ll have increasing clouds overnight ahead of our next snowmaker.
Tracking our next snow
This behemoth of a weather maker prompts winter headlines across several states across the United States. This includes Winter Storm Warnings from Raleigh, North Carolina through Dallas, Texas. Some spots in the northern Dallas suburbs could approach half an inch of snowfall overnight and into Friday. We’ll get our share of the snow Friday, too and it will come with commute impacts. Winter Weather Advisory kicks in at 4:00 a.m. Friday and sticks with us through 4:00 a.m. Saturday.
Most of the Friday morning commute should be okay. However, the tail-end of the commute could see some snow showers starting SW and west of Indianapolis. Because of this, a few slick spots can’t be ruled out but those will be few and far between. That activity will gradually spread NE throughout the morning and afternoon. It will become a steady snow from that time and stick around through the Friday p.m. commute. We anticipate that the p.m. commute will come with slowdowns and headaches. So plan ahead!
The snow will taper through the evening before exiting into the overnight hours. When all is said and done, most will end up with 2-4″ of snow. This will be the story through much of Central Indiana. Less snow likely further NW but more possible south and southeast. Those spots could approach 5.0″ in spots.
This will continue what has been a busy winter season for Central Indiana. Since October 1st, Indianapolis has 12.0″ of snow under its belt. Compared to last year’s 2.2″ to date, we have 10″ more snow overall. It’s the most snow to date in 11 years. A typical season (October 1st to May 1st) sees 25.5″ for Indianapolis.
Cold (and more snow) follow
The cold temperatures aren’t going anywhere following Friday’s snow. High temperatures in the 20s will be around through the weekend. We’ll “peak” with highs near 30° Sunday ahead of a frontal boundary. This clipper system could bring some snow showers Sunday night into Monday but those chances are low. If any snow were to occur, amounts would be low.
That will pass through late Sunday into Monday which will give us our next cold blast. Temperatures will tumble during the day Monday setting the stage for more cold. Highs in the teens on Tuesday and Wednesday as we remain dry. Lows in the single digits with subzero wind chills are also likely.
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