Indiana

Freshman All-American Cornerback D’Angelo Ponds Brings Special Qualities to Indiana Football

Published

2 years ago

June 11, 2024

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.”

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Indiana

Central Indiana schools announce closures, delays planned for Tuesday

Published

44 minutes ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Central Indiana schools announce closures, delays planned for Tuesday

INDIANAPOLIS — Some schools in central Indiana are planning to close or delay the start of their classes on Tuesday.

The closures and delays come in the wake of a difficult weekend of severe winter weather in the Hoosier State. On Saturday, a wintry system dumped more than six inches of snow in some portions of the state.

Points north of Indianapolis like Lafayette received between three and four inches of snow. Towns south of the Circle City like Seymour saw similar snowfall totals. As for Indianapolis itself, more than five inches of snow were recorded in some portions of the city.

After Saturday’s snow, frigid temperatures took hold in the area. A Cold Weather Advisory was issued for much of the state as wind chill values dipped well below zero.

The cold and snow triggered a bevy of school closings and delays for Monday. Schools began to announce delays and closures for Tuesday late Monday night as snow removal crews across the state continued to try to keep roadways clear.

Though some schools plan to close or delay the start of classes on Tuesday, temperature improvements are forecasted. High temperatures are anticipated to exceed the 32-degree freezing threshold and hit 36 degrees. The warming trend is expected to continue on both Wednesday and Thursday, with high temperatures forecasted to reach 40 and 50 degrees, respectively.

Precipitation is forecasted for Thursday, though temperatures are expected to remain warm enough for Indiana to get rain instead of snow.

FOX59/CBS4 is tracking the closures and delays schools plan to implement on Tuesday. Check out the latest available list of closings below:

Jump To: A–Z

A

Area 30 Career Center

Putnam

Charles A Beard Mem School Corp

Henry

School

Delayed 2 hours

Cloverdale Community Schools

Putnam

School

2-Hour Delay, No AM Preschool

D

Decatur County Community Schools

Decatur

School

Delayed 2 hours

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Indiana

AwardsWatch – Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Awards: ‘Sinners’ Named Best Picture

Published

13 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

AwardsWatch – Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) Awards: ‘Sinners’ Named Best Picture

The Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) has named Sinners the best film of 2025, also awarding the film original screenplay, score, cinematography, editing and ensemble.

Paul Thomas Anderson was named best director for One Battle After Another, which also picked up acting wins for Benicio Del Toro (supporting performance) and Chase Infiniti (breakout of the year).

Here is the complete list of winners and runners-up.

Best Picture
Winner: Sinners
Runner-up: One Battle After Another

Best Director
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Best Lead Performance
Winner: Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Runner-up: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

Best Supporting Performance
Winner: Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Amy Madigan, Weapons

Best Vocal / Motion-Capture Performance
Winner: Will Patton, Train Dreams
Runner-up: Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Best Ensemble Acting
Winner: Sinners
Runner-up: One Battle After Another

Best Animated Film
Winner: K-Pop Demon Hunters
Runner-up: The Legend of Hei 2

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: No Other Choice
Runner-up: Sentimental Value

Best Documentary Film
Winner: The Tenderness Tour
Runner-up: Orwell: 2+2=5

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Runner-up: Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Mike Flanagan, The Life of Chuck

Best Musical Score
Winner: Ludwig Göransson, Sinners
Runner-up: Jonny Greenwood, One Battle After Another

Breakout of the Year
Winner: Chase Infiniti (performer), One Battle After Another
Runner-up: Miles Caton (performer), Sinners

Best Cinematography
Winner: Autumn Donald Arkapaw, Sinners
Runner-up: Michael Bauman, One Battle After Another

Best Editing
Winner: Michael P. Shawver, Sinners
Runner-up: Andy Jurgensen, One Battle After Another

Best Stunt / Movement Choreography
Winner: Wade Eastwood (second-unit director / stunt coordinator), Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning
Runner-up: Brian Machleit (stunt coordinator), One Battle After Another

Best Special Effects
Winner: Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess and Ivan Busquets (visual effects supervisors) and José Granell (miniatures / models supervisor), Frankenstein
Runner-up: Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl and Guido Wolter (visual effects supervisors) and Donnie Dean (special effects coordinator), Sinners

Original Vision Award
Winner: Good Boy
Runner-up: The Testament of Ann Lee

The Edward Johnson-Ott Hoosier Award
Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

Indiana

Police shoots man armed with knife in Gary, Indiana, officials say

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Police shoots man armed with knife in Gary, Indiana, officials say

Updated on: December 15, 2025 / 12:07 AM CST
/ CBS Chicago

A man wielding a knife was shot by a police officer on Sunday in Gary, Indiana.

A spokesperson for the city said officers responded to the 2100 block of Tennessee Street for a call of a suicidal man who was armed with a knife in his hand. The man had already stabbed himself a couple of times before they arrived.

Officers found the man in the east alley of 22nd and Ohio. At this time, he was standing in the alley still with the knife in his hand and refused to drop it as ordered by officers. The man then started to advance toward the officer, who shot the man three times in the arm, the spokesperson said.

The officer notified the department that shots were fired, and the man was down. The condition of the man is unknown as of Sunday night.

Other officers responded to the scene to set up a perimeter around the area. The Gary Fire Department and Lake County Crime Scene Investigation personnel were also contacted.

No further information was immediately available.

If you or someone you know is in emotional distress, get help from the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. Trained crisis counselors are available 24 hours a day to talk about anything.