Princely Umanmielen appreciative of the coaching at Ole Miss: ‘I feel like I’m actually getting developed here’
OXFORD, Miss. – It was November 11th, and Ole Miss been beaten badly in Athens, losing 52-17 against Georgia. In his postgame press conference, Lane Kiffin highlighted the fact that if the Rebels wanted to take their achievements to the next level, they were going to have to recruit at a rate that they had never had before.
As we all know, Coach Kiffin and his staff did exactly that and recruited one of the most impressive transfer portal classes in the nation, including top-edge rusher Princely Umanmielen.
On Tuesday after spring practice, Kiffin broke down what he has seen from the Florida transfer so far in spring ball.
First look at Princely Umanmielen in his new threads👀
(📸: @d1princely) pic.twitter.com/pTJtih0lfj
— PFF College (@PFF_College) March 11, 2024
“We’ve talked in here about the Georgia game. A big thing was, let’s go out in the portal and get guys. Watching Princely, it really was like here’s somebody who has really ideal size, length, and speed to be a really good player. It’s good to have him, and you can see it out there, his length really shows up.“
Lane Kiffin on Princely Umanmielen
In the midst of his nine-day portal recruitment, Princely himself revealed to us who from the team was the most involved in getting him to the Sip.
“Jaxson (Dart). He would call me and FaceTime me all the time. I wouldn’t say it was weird, but in the past, I feel like the quarterbacks were always to themselves or only hung out with one guy, but Jaxson is a team guy. He talks to everybody on the team. It’s still weird to me because I’m used to not ever talking to the quarterbacks.“
Princely Umanmielen on Jaxson Dart’s recruitment of him
Really Like That 🤐@JaxsonDart | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/R6SOIEmkoK
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) March 25, 2024
A Difference in Coaching
According to Princely, building a relationship with his quarterback isn’t the only aspect of change he is experiencing in Oxford. He says there is a distinct difference in the way he has been coached so far, crediting Lead Analyst Lou Spanos and defensive line coach Randall Joyner for the advice they’ve provided.
“At Florida, the way I was coached, it was almost as if they were telling me to go out there and use my talent. Here, Coach Lou and Coach Joyner are really on me about the little things. Coach Lou goes through the progressions of the drops and the routes that are being run when I have to go into coverage. When I was at Florida, they would tell me to go drop to this area, and I would have to figure everything else out on my own. Here, they go real into depth, I feel like I’m actually getting developed.”
Princely Umanmielen on the coaching he’s received at Ole Miss
Even with a lack of direction in Gainesville, Umanmielen still managed to collect 39 total tackles and seven sacks this past season. Regardless of his success, Princely admitted that learning Pete Golding’s defense has been quite a challenge in his first few weeks here.
“I ain’t going to lie…in the past, I had three different defensive coordinators, but it’s never been as hard as learning coach Golding’s defense, but I also see why he’s had so much success because once you learn it, you see why he’s had some of the top defenses in the country.”
Princely Umanmielen on Pete Golding’s defense
Named a Top Returning Edge Rusher 🦈@d1princely | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/FM433YsdUC
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) March 25, 2024
Despite the learning curve, under Golding and Joyner’s leadership, Princely will have the perfect opportunity to not only prepare himself for the NFL, but also for a national championship run with the Rebels.
For football, recruiting, and all Ole Miss sports coverage, be sure to stay tuned with The Rebel Walk. Hotty Toddy!
