Indiana
NFL draft profile 2026: D’Angelo Ponds (Cornerback, Indiana)
The 2026 NFL Draft is in Pittsburgh! This draft season, we’ll be scouting as many of the top prospects that the Pittsburgh Steelers could have their eye on. We’ll break down the prospects themselves, strengths and weaknesses, projected draft capital, and their fit with the Steelers.
The nickel cornerback position is essentially a starter in the modern NFL, and not many 2026 draft prospects have more hype there than D’Angelo Ponds. Could he be in play for the Steelers?
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The basics on D’Angelo Ponds
Defensive stats via Sports Reference
D’Angelo Ponds scouting report
I’m not sure if there’s a prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft more universally loved than Indiana’s D’Angelo Ponds. And if you watched him this season, you’d understand why. Ponds is the embodiment of the “got that dog in me” memes with the pit bull photo-shopped over a chest X-ray. He’s an undersized defender at 5’9, 182 pounds, sure, but he plays so much bigger and was one of the best cornerbacks in the country on a National Championship team that had to play a lot of good offenses to get that far.
The biggest constant in the games I watched of Ponds is that he makes plays. He finished 2025 with 61 total tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions, and 11 passes defensed. He’s a high-effort player who can defend both the run and pass. That leads to production in every aspect of the game.
Ponds is more than just an undersized fan favorite, as well. While he didn’t test much at the NFL Combine, his vertical jump was elite and he looked plenty fluid in the individual drills. He’s an NFL athlete.
Ponds is a lot of fun to watch in coverage. He’s generally smooth in his transitions, with urgent, choppy footwork that helps him stay in the receiver’s pocket throughout the play. His sub-30” arms are a bit of a concern on paper, but you wouldn’t guess it from his play — Ponds does a great job contesting catches and uses his arms well to make a play on the ball.
Ponds also possesses good instincts in zone coverage, especially near the line of scrimmage. When he sniffs out a route he drives on it quickly to make a play.
Ponds has a bit of a folk hero reputation on NFL Draft Twitter — well deserved, in my opinion — but we do have to be realistic about his projection in the pros. Ponds plays big, but was still brought back down to earth against Madden-create-a-player Jeremiah Smith in their matchup.
You’ll also see him give up contested catches to big pass-catchers at times. Ultimately, while I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ponds hold up OK on the boundary in the NFL, his skill set definitely translates best to the slot where he won’t be matched up against X receivers as often and can play to his strengths coming downhill.
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Because again, even though Ponds is not a large corner, he’s a great tackler for his position, hitting with impact and consistently wrapping up.
Ponds projects as a plus starter in the nickel in the NFL thanks to his coverage ability and tackling mindset.
Strengths
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Choppy, active feet; mirrors effectively and relentlessly
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Plays much larger than his listed size
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Ferocious at the catch point; disrupts receivers with his arms
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Effective, high-effort tackler
Weaknesses
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Will likely be limited to the slot in the NFL
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Lack of size can be an issue against big X receivers; bullied by Jeremiah Smith
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Aggressive playing style occasionally backfires
What others are saying about D’Angelo Ponds
Lance Zierlein, NFL.com
Ponds is a productive perimeter cornerback trapped in a smaller body, but he’s not lacking in confidence or coverage tenacity. He’s tremendously competitive and winning seems to follow him at each stop. He matches press releases with good slide quickness and has the speed to stay in-phase as routes travel vertically. Eye discipline, instincts and trigger quickness fuel his zone work and catch disruption. Size limitations will likely push him to nickelback, where mismatches against bigger bodies and physical challenges from run games will test his playmaking/durability. Ponds is a likely Day 2 pick who will be an above-average starting nickelback in the NFL.
Daniel Harms, Bleacher Report
Ponds plays with fantastic zone awareness in any variation thanks to his quick feet and track background. His instincts are tied to strong eye discipline and make him a formidable opponent when reading the quarterback. … Doesn’t panic with the ball in the air and plays with the mindset of a bigger corner when working downfield. He attacks the catchpoint with authority and timing to disrupt catches. .. When dealing with comeback routes or hitches at full speed, he displays a slight hitch within his deceleration. This slight pause allows receivers to sell deep and break him off at the top of routes. … PRO COMPARISON: Marcus Jones
Jay Robins, Stampede Blue
The simple fact is, Ponds’ tape is sensational. Had he grown roughly 3 inches taller and had his arm length and weight grow proportionally, his tape would warrant not just Round 1 discussion, but created a Top Corner in the Class debate with LSU’s Mansoor Delane. Even without that extra growth spurt, Ponds has maximized every athletic gift he’s been given and plays with a fiery intensity that shines bright. As one of the chairmen of the Upton Stout = Stud committee leading up to last years’ draft, I can’t help but love the tape and trust in the player’s clear passion to work itself out; measuring tape be damned.
D’Angelo Ponds’ fit with the Steelers
If the Steelers plan to move Jalen Ramsey to safety in the future, drafting Ponds in the second round would shore up the Pittsburgh secondary with a quality slot corner. He could also see some success on the outside in more of a cloud corner role.
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Of course, the Steelers could see Ramsey as the answer in the slot for the time being (where I think he fits best), making a Ponds pick somewhat redundant. Either way, the Indiana product is sure to be an instant fan favorite wherever he lands.
TL;DR: Ponds is a feisty, undersized cornerback who excels as a tackler and in coverage. He’s a playmaker in every phase of the game who will likely move to the slot in the NFL, but Ponds’ athleticism and high-effort playing style should make him an instant contributor.
What are your thoughts on Indiana cornerback D’Angelo Ponds? And which draft prospects would you like to see profiled next? Let us know in the comments below!
Indiana
7 Indiana legislators face Trump-backed primary challengers after bucking him on redistricting
Seven Indiana Republican state senators are facing off Tuesday against primary challengers backed by President Donald Trump as he seeks to exact revenge over a failed redistricting plan.
Trump’s intervention in the typically quiet local primary races have brought a flood of money and national attention to the state. Roughly $12 million has been spent on advertising across the seven contests, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact, most of which has come from Trump-allied outside groups opposing the incumbents.
The Republican-led state Senate dealt Trump a rare rebuke when it voted down a redrawn congressional map he backed that was designed to result in two additional seats for the GOP. It was part of a broader mid-decade redistricting battle playing out across the country ahead of this fall’s midterm elections, when control of the narrowly divided U.S. House will be up for grabs.
But ultimately, the heavy-handed pressure campaign from Trump and his allies backfired. Now, they are revisiting similar lines of attack in their bid to unseat the seven lawmakers, turning the contests into another test of Trump’s grip on the Republican Party.
The most expensive of the primaries is for the seat represented by state Sen. Spencer Deery, who’s facing a challenge from Paula Copenhaver, an aide to Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith. More than $3 million has been poured into ads in a district of approximately 135,000 people. Deery served as an aide to former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels when he was the president of Purdue University.
State Sen. Greg Goode is running in a three-way primary against two unrelated candidates with the same surname: Vigo County Council member Brenda Wilson, who has Trump’s endorsement, and Alexandra Wilson, a network engineer.
As NBC News reported last month, White House officials and Trump allies aggressively sought to push Alexandra Wilson out of the race, fearing she’d act as a spoiler in the race and help Goode survive.
State Sen. Travis Holdman, who’s been in office since 2008, serves in leadership as the third-most powerful Republican in the chamber. He is facing challenge from Blake Fiechter, a real estate agent who is backed by Trump. Fiechter briefly left the race in February, telling local media he was overwhelmed, but changed his mind after a White House visit in March.
State Sen. Greg Walker was set to retire last year after 20 years in the chamber, but reversed course amid the redistricting fight, where he notably broke down in tears speaking about his fear for the future if his party caved to Trump’s intimidation. State Rep. Michelle Davis, who was already planning to run for his seat, stayed in the race after his reversal and won Trump’s support. Walker’s campaign has spent just $73,000 on ads, while outside groups have funneled more than 1.3 million in ads in support of Davis.
State Sen. Jim Buck, 80, has served in the state Legislature since 1994, first in the state House before heading to the state Senate in 2008. He’s facing his first primary since joining the state Senate from Tipton County Commissioner Tracey Powell. Powell has Trump’s endorsement, while Buck has the backing of former Vice President and former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
Elsewhere, state Sen. Linda Rogers, who owns and manages a golf course and a home building company, is running against Dr. Brian Schmutzler, an anesthesiologist who said on his campaign website that he opposes “government health mandates” and tax hikes. He’s also said he was motivated to run by the redistricting fight.
And state Sen. Dan Dernulc, who represents a district in the northern part of the state near Chicago, has faced far less outside spending in his fight against two challengers, Trump-endorsed Trevor De Vries, an insurance broker, and financial analyst Nader Liddawi. While the six other races have each seen more than $1 million in ad spending, Dernulc’s primary has only hit $346,000.
Trump also waded into one of the open primaries for the seat currently held by retiring state Sen. Eric Bassler, who voted against the redistricting effort. The president backed former state Rep. Jeff Ellington, who is facing two Republican opponents on Tuesday.
PLAINFIELD — Light spills from a window above a wooden fixture of the crucifixion at Saint Susanna Catholic Church as parishioners weave through the pews at the close of the 11 a.m. mass on a recent Sunday.
Most leave, but some stick around for coffee and doughnuts, a fundraising effort for the church’s prison ministry, which provides rosaries, Bibles and faith study materials to inmates at the Hendricks County Jail. In the hallway are stacks of letters to U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, Sen. Todd Young and Rep. Jim Baird, urging them to support programs to reduce hunger at home and abroad.
“Cuts to SNAP and international assistance have already put millions at risk,” the letter reads, citing Jesus’ refusal to turn a hungry crowd away in the Bible verse Matthew 14:16. “We can and must do better.”
Those cuts have been hallmarks of President Donald Trump’s administration, which has taken a less generous, and at times adversarial, approach to those in need globally as it looks to reduce spending. The strategy has contributed to a larger tension between Catholicism and the president; at the helm of this opposition is Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope, whose criticisms of the war in Iran have increasingly landed him in Trump’s crosshairs.
But Catholics across the nation, including at Saint Susanna, told USAToday and IndyStar that they favor the pope’s approach.
“He has done it elegantly, but yet very stern,” Eloisa Garza, who helps run the prison ministry, said of Pope Leo after mass at Saint Susanna on April 26. “Being an American, which we are Americans, that’s what sometimes other countries look at us to do as leaders.”
Garza, 70, said she appreciates that Pope Leo has the courage to speak when the world needs a powerful voice rooted in faith. His role as the first American-born pope only adds to the impact, she said.
She runs the prison ministry along with Harla Lyle, 84, who also commended the pope for his “quiet, serene composure.”
Even when in conflict with some world leaders, Lyle said, Pope Leo sticks to faith.
“I think that he really is a symbol,” she said.
The trust in Pope Leo comes as the pontiff fields blistering attacks from Trump. After the pope called Trump’s threat of annihilation in Iran “unacceptable,” the president fired back that Pope Leo was “weak on crime.”
The tension between the two men is sometimes amplified by Vice President J.D. Vance, a Catholic himself who has openly disagreed with the pope and warned him to be “be careful” when discussing theology.
American Catholics have largely backed the pope in the past, and the broader public has continued to view the pope favorably. More than two-thirds of U.S. voters who are Catholic said they view the pope favorably, according to a November 2025 poll. Three-fifths of Americans in general view the pope in a positive light, too, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found in April.
Chicago native John Paloma, who now lives in Camby, Indiana, said he used to live “down the road” from where the pope grew up. Paloma said he appreciated that the pope has not engaged in extended battles with those who criticize him.
“There might be some controversy, but as long as he keeps to the faith, what could you say?” he said, sitting at a table after mass with fellow parishioners. “My hope is still high.”
Bob Duty, an 84-year-old man sitting with Paloma, shared a similarly positive view.
“I like the pope,” Duty told IndyStar. “He’s from America.”
Contact breaking politics reporter Marissa Meador at mmeador@indystar.com or find her on X at @marissa_meador.
A man is dead following a May 4 collision on westbound Interstate 64 west of Corydon, Indiana, according to a news release from the Indiana State Police.
ISP Sgt. Carey Huls said the two-vehicle crash occurred around 5:45 a.m. when Zachary Burdin, 31, was traveling westbound on I-64, and his vehicle collided with the back of a truck with a trailer full of paving equipment.
Burdin was pronounced dead at the scene by the Harrison County Coroner. There were no other injuries reported. Officials do not attribute the crash to any weather conditions.
Huls said the crash was cleared from the highway by about 9 a.m., and there are no current issues.
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