Former Indiana football cornerback D’Angelo Ponds has been one of the hottest names in NFL Draft discussions throughout the 2025 regular season and ensuing offseason.
He starred for the Hoosiers during the past two seasons after transferring in from James Madison, locking down half the field while matching up with star wide receivers at Oregon, Ohio State, Alabama, Miami and more, all the way to the national championship.
The biggest point of discussion around Ponds is his height. He was listed at
5’9” at Indiana and measured in just a hair below that at the NFL Combine this week at 5’8.5”. Most cornerbacks are right at 6’ or within a few inches of that.
That didn’t stop Ponds from putting together some of the best tape of any cornerback available in the 2026 NFL Draft during these past two seasons and didn’t stop him from doing this in the vertical leap drill at the combine:
Ponds’ leap of 43.50” ranks second among participants at this year’s combine and ties the 10th highest leap in the event’s history.
Again, cannot emphasize this enough, he’s an excellent football player who’d be an asset to any team lucky enough to see him on the board when it picks.
