DALLAS (FWAA) – Indiana cornerback D’Angelo Ponds grabbed two interceptions last Saturday, taking one of them to the house to open the scoring during the Hoosiers’ 31-17 win over Washington. For his first multi-interception game that helped Indiana stay undefeated at 8-0, Ponds earned the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week honor for games played the weekend of Oct. 26, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.
Each week during the regular season, the FWAA has selected a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week since 2001. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2024 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Nov. 20. The national defensive player of the year will be chosen from those finalists who are part of the 2024 FWAA All-America Team and presented with the trophy at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet on Dec. 9 at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Players may be added or removed from the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list during the season. If a player isn’t already on the preseason watch list – including Ponds this week – each week’s honored player will be added at that time.
Overall, Ponds had five total tackles against Washington, including one for a loss, and made his impact early. Barely seven minutes into the game Ponds stepped in front of a Washington pass and took it 65 yards the other way for a touchdown to open the scoring, marking the Hoosiers’ longest interception return for a touchdown since 2015. He also intercepted a pass in the second quarter that led to IU's second score of the game and a 14-point lead.
The first pick was the first of his career, high school or college, for the 5-9 sophomore from Miami, Fla., who also earned the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Ponds’ two interceptions are the first multi-interception game by a Hoosier in Big Ten play since Jamar Johnson at Ohio State in 2020.
Ponds was the highest-graded defensive back (at 93.5) among the Power 4 leagues during Week 9 per Pro Football Focus. His four career interceptions are tied for No. 2 among active FBS true sophomores.
The true sophomore was a member of the FWAA’s 2023 Freshman All-America team and one of 13 scholarship newcomers who followed first-year head coach Curt Cignetti and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines from James Madison to Indiana in the spring. Ponds earned second-team recognition from the Sun Belt Conference last season at JMU.
Ponds has been one of the key pieces of Indiana’s run to an 8-0 record for only the second time in program history (also in 1967), as is the Hoosiers’ 5-0 start to Big Ten play. He’s Indiana’s fourth-leading tackler with 40 thus far (27 solo) and three tackles for loss, including the one against Washington. He has five pass breakups as well. Ponds’ five tackles against Washington mark the fifth time in eight games he’s had five or more in a game, with a high of 10 in a Sept. 28 win over Nebraska that was his first career double-digit tackle mark.
In his Indiana debut Aug. 31 against FIU, Ponds got the start and logged six tackles and a pass breakup. Last year Ponds played in all 13 games for JMU, starting in 10 of them, and was 11th in the FBS for most passes defended (15).
Indiana has never had a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
The Hoosiers travel to Michigan State for a 3:30 p.m. ET game Saturday on Peacock.
The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the association’s full membership, selects a 26-man All-America Team and eventually the Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalists. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner will be chosen from the finalists named in November. Committee members, by individual ballot, select the winner they regard as the best defensive player in college football.
The FWAA has chosen a National Defensive Player of the Year since 1993. In 1995, the FWAA named the award in honor of the legendary two-way player from the University of Minnesota. Nagurski dominated college football, then became a star for professional football’s Chicago Bears in the 1930s. Bronislaw "Bronko" Nagurski is a charter member of both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football’s most prestigious awards and its 24 awards have honored more than 900 recipients dating back to 1935. This season, 13 NCFAA awards will honor national players of the week each Tuesday. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org or follow on X at @NCFAA.
The Charlotte Touchdown Club is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1990 for the purpose of promoting high school, collegiate, and professional football in the Charlotte, North Carolina region. Since its inception, the club has grown as well as diversified boasting a sponsor team of more than (80) companies. The Club's activities and services focus community attention on the outstanding Citizenship, Scholarship, Sportsmanship, and Leadership of area athletes and coaches. Through individual and corporate support, more than $3,000,000 has been raised and donated to benefit the Touchdown Club's scholarship efforts.
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Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.