BLOOMINGTON — Former Alabama coach Nick Saban had high praise for Indiana football cornerback D'Angelo Ponds on Friday night after the New York Jets drafted him in the second round.
Ponds' 5-foot-9 frame prevented him from being a first-round pick, but Saban cautioned any Jets fans questioning the All-American defender.
"Don't bet against him," Saban said as one of the analysts on ESPN's draft broadcast.
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Ponds won Defensive MVP honors in both the Rose Bowl and Peach Bowl with his blocked punt in the latter game being one of the highlights of IU's postseason run. In 2025, he had 67 tackles (43 solo) and led IU with 11 pass breakups as one of the country's highest-graded corners (89.9), according to Pro Football Focus.
Coming out of Chaminade-Madonna High School, the Miami native ended up helping take down a Hurricanes team in the national title game that didn't offer him a scholarship.
Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt offered up similar praise of Ponds on the NFL Network broadcast of the draft. Klatt called multiple IU games in 2024 and 2025, including the Big Ten title game.
"I love this," Klatt said of the Jets' pick. "He's one of my favorite players that I got to cover last year. I'll just say, Indiana was one of the best defenses in college football. Bryant Haines, their defensive coordinator was excellent, well his secret was D'Angelo Ponds.
"He built the entire defense around a boundary corner. And he would rotate the entire defense away from Ponds, put all the numbers to the field because he knew his 5-foot-9 corner could take away the entire half of the field. That's how competitive he was, that's how good he was in coverage."
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: D'Angelo Ponds praised by Nick Saban, Joel Klatt after taken by Jets in NFL Draft