Princeley Umanmielen discusses Wake Forest road game, his adaptation to Pete Golding’s defense
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss edge rusher Princely Umanmielen took the podium for the Rebels’ weekly press conferences to talk about adjusting to a new place and the Landshark defense ahead of this Saturday’s matchup against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Here is what Princely Umanmielen had to say:
Settling in
Just like many other members of the Ole Miss defense, Umanmielen, a Florida transfer, has been handling the challenge of learning a new system with championship expectations. Currently after two games, Umanmielen leads the team in quarterback hurries (4). He notched a sack and a pair of hits on the QB against Middle Tennessee State this past Saturday.
He was asked about how he has adjusted to learning a new system under Rebel defensive coordinator Pete Golding.
“Now that we are out of camp, it’s much better. During camp, you have to learn a whole bunch of plays, but when you go into the game week and game plan, there is a set amount of plays, we’re going to run. It has gotten much simpler. I have still had to have a couple extra meetings with my coaches just so I can learn the insides and outs of this (system) so I can play really fast.”
~ Umanmielen on adjusting to the Ole Miss defense
Princely Umanmielen made his presence felt on Furman’s first drive pic.twitter.com/nRGSMvAXIV
— We Run the Sip (@OMRebelNation) September 1, 2024
Coming off of a seven-sack season at Florida a year ago, Umanmielen has already shot up draft boards this offseason even with the move to a new program. However, he still believes that he has plenty of room to improve. Monday, Umanmielen told the media how he plans to become even better than he was in 2023.
“Just studying throughout the week and getting extra meetings with Coach Lou (Spanos). I just met with PG (Pete Golding) yesterday. Just getting extra meetings with those guys…I want to show that I can play with the same effort throughout the entire game.“
~ Umanmielen on improving in 2024
Many of the new faces on the Ole Miss roster, as well as veteran players, have praised the fans that pack Vaught-Hemingway Stadium after the season opener a week ago. Umanmielen took the chance on Monday to show his appreciation as well:
“The first game when I ran out of the tunnel, the stadium was way louder than I expected.“
Princely Umanmielen on the fans in Vaught-Hemingway
The Landshark defense
The Rebel defensive line was hyped up all off-season heading into 2024, and they have not disappointed at all during the first two weeks of football. Through two games played along with several rotations at every position, the Ole Miss defense has racked up 25 tackles for loss and six sacks. The Rebel front has given up just 54 yards total on the ground through two games.
Monday, Umanmielen gave his assessment of the Landshark defense so far.
“I feel like we are doing a great job at stopping the run. I feel like things are still a little fresh. We are just two weeks into the season, so, we have a little more stuff we need to clean up to be truly elite at every single phase of the defense. I think so far we have been doing pretty good.“
~ Umanmielen on the Rebel defense
Heading into Week 3 at Wake Forest, the question all week will be ‘How will Ole Miss handle its first road environment?’ Much like his quarterback Jaxson Dart said a few weeks ago, Umanmielen is also ready to be a road dog as a Rebel.
“I think it’s going to be a great measuring stick…it’s going to be a great test to see where we are. I feel like week in and week out we go into the game with the same mentality no matter who we’re playing. We’re going into Wake Forest to try to dominate them just like we have these past two weeks.“
~ Umanmielen on going on the road to Wake Forest
Up Next
The Rebels will continue their week of game prep heading into Winston-Salem, North Carolina this Saturday. On September 14th at 5:30 pm CT, the No. 5 ranked Ole Miss football team will take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on the CW Network.
Kameron Wicker
Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.
