D'Angelo Ponds has been one of the faces of Indiana's during its rise to prominence, and he is not hiding what this trip south for the national championship means to him.
"My hometown for a Natty... against a team who never recruited me, it's going to be a great feeling," the Hoosiers cornerback said in a postgame interview after Indiana clinched its spot in the College Football Playoff title game.
Ponds was under-recruited despite a standout career at Miami's Chaminade Madonna High School. He was labeled undersized and was overlooked as a high school prospect.