Fewer than four months since helping the Indiana Hoosiers claim arguably the most improbable NCAA football title, WR Omar Cooper Jr. (6-0, 199) and CB D'Angelo Ponds (5-8, 182) are taking their first NFL steps together as New York Jets at rookie minicamp.

"It's been great honestly, just having him," Ponds said of Cooper. "I never would have told you that we were going to the same NFL team. Honestly, I couldn't have imagined that."

What makes things even more unlikely was the Jets traded up in Round 1, securing the 30th pick from the 49ers in a picks swap that allowed the Jets to take Cooper. The Jets traded down a night later, exchanging picks with the Lions and landing Ponds.

"Just the fact that it happened is insane and it still hasn't hit me yet," Cooper said on Saturday.

'He Can Do Everything'
While their past two destinations have been identical, Cooper and Ponds took far different paths to 1 Jets Drive. Cooper, who attended Lawrence North HS in Indiana and was Rivals' No. 6-ranked prospect in Indiana, stayed in-state and played 42 games at IU. After leading the Big 10 with 21.2 yds/rec in 2023, Cooper broke out last year with 69 catches for 937 yards (13.6 per). He finished tied for No. 3 on the single-season receiving TD list (13) and 44 of his 69 receptions went for a first down or touchdown.

"He's a dynamic player," Ponds said of Cooper. "He's a guy that can catch the ball and create yards after the catch. He's a guy that can go up and get it as well. So, he kind of has that dynamic twitch to him as well. So, he can do everything basically."

'A Real Competitive Guy'
Ponds, a West Park, FL, native who helped Chaminade Madonna to back-to-back FHSAA state championships, started his collegiate career under HC Curt Cignetti at James Madison. After recording 13 PDs, 2 INTs and 2 FR in 2023, Ponds followed Cignetti to Indiana and became Cooper's teammate. In two seasons at IU over 28 games, Ponds totaled 5 INTs, 24 PDs, 116 tackles and 8.5 TFL.

"He's just a real competitive guy," Cooper said of Ponds. "His size doesn't show how he plays. He's going to go out there every day, he's going to give it his all. He ain't going to let it be easy. Being able to go against him – he helped me be a better receiver. And I feel like I've helped him become a better corner as well, just being able to go against each other each and every day."

Cooper, who forced 27 missed tackles last season which tied for fourth-most in the nation, played primarily in the slot but can move outside as well. He posted a 4.42 time in the 40-yard dash and had a 37-inch vertical at the NFL Combine.

"It's really just dominate, try to get as many extra yards as you can," Cooper said of his mindset. "The more yards you get, the more the chains move, the more plays the offense gets which gives them more opportunities to score. So that's really what my mindset is every time I touch the ball."

'It's Innate, Part of Who He Is'
A tough defender and tenacious tackler, Ponds' 54 stops last season were the third most among all P4 cornerbacks. Ponds blazed to a 4.31 second time in the 40-yard dash at IU's Pro Day and he had a 43-inch vertical at the combine. Many draft pundits looked at Ponds and drew comparisons to a young Aaron Glenn, but the Jets HC has said the rookie corner will blaze his own trail.

"It's how do you lead the team from an action standpoint and from a verbal standpoint," Glenn said. "And he has all those attributes. Listen, I'm not throwing all that on him right now, but you clearly see those are some of the things that he has. It's innate, it's a part of who he is. Listen, it makes me proud that when people see him and they say -- I mean I wish people looked at me and said I played like him because, heck, he's a damn good player. We are going to take it slow with him, allow him to really learn outside and inside, and, man, I'm glad we have him."

'Kind of Crazy'
Rookie TE Kenyon Sadiq, an Oregon product selected No. 16 overall, said Cooper Jr. "catches about every ball in the air" and runs "great" routes. Five of the Jets' eight draft picks participated in the college football playoffs including each of their top four selections. But Cooper, who had TD receptions against Alabama in the quarterfinals and Sadiq's Ducks in the semifinals plus 5 catches for 71 yards in the national championship win over Anez Cooper's Miami Hurricanes, and Ponds, who had a pick-6 of Oregon QB Dante Moore on the game's first snap and added 5 tackles plus a game-high 3 pass breakups against the 'Canes, became the championship pair who have joined forces once again with the Jets.

"I was literally talking to Omar about (the Ponds pick-6) last night and we were even talking literally five minutes ago on the field about just their defense," Sadiq said. "You know how well they played and stuff like that. We always kind of just -- it's just kind of crazy you're playing against them, you're prepping against them, scouting them three, four months ago and now you're on the team as them, like David [Bailey] and stuff like that, so it's kind of crazy."