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Princely Umanmielen adds some spice to Florida-Ole Miss game with shot at Billy Napier’s staff
By Andrew Olson
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Princely Umanmielen likely circled Nov. 23 on his calendar when he transferred from Florida to Ole Miss. The Rebels travel to Gainesville in the penultimate weekend of the 2024 regular season to face the Gators in The Swamp.
On Tuesday, Umanmielen went into calling out his former coaches in comments that quickly spread across social media.
“”I feel like I was one of the best in the country as far as pass rushing,” Umanmielen said. “Something from last season that I could work on better (are) my drops and attacking the run game a little bit. I feel like here I’m getting coached harder for things like that.
“I feel like at Florida the way I was coached was kind of almost as if they were just telling me to go out there and ‘use my talent’, if that makes sense. Here, Coach Lou (Spanos) and Coach Joyner (are) really on me about the little things. Coach Lou really goes through the progressions and drops and the routes that are being run when I have to go in coverage.
“When I was at Florida, they would just tell me ‘go drop to this area’ and I’d have to figure everything else out on my own. But here they go into depth. I feel like I’m actually getting developed here.”
Former Florida defender Princely Umanmielen on the difference playing for Ole Miss:
“Here they go real in depth.
“I feel like I’m actually getting developed here.”
Ole Miss travels to Florida on Nov. 23 this season ? pic.twitter.com/kTLu7uNYGd
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) March 26, 2024
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No time for Napier, staff to worry about Umanmielen’s shot
It’s clear that Umanmielen won’t be thanking Florida head coach Billy Napier, position coach Mike Peterson or defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong when he is picked in the 2025 NFL Draft. He also probably won’t be sharing any postgame handshakes or hugs with his former coaches after Ole Miss plays Florida in The Swamp.
Umanmielen saying he felt he wouldn’t be developed at Florida undoubtedly stings for Napier, Peterson and Armstrong. While it may not have been his intention, Umanmielen has delivered prime negative recruiting material to be used by all of Florida’s rivals on the trail.
Gator Nation, though, probably doesn’t have to worry too much about Umanmielen’s shot at his former program.
Peterson, a Gator great under Steve Spurrier, has been coaching Edge defenders since 2016 and has a resume that includes defenders who were developed into NFL players.
At South Carolina, Peterson coached NFL Draft picks in Kingsley Enagbare (2022) and D.J. Wonnum (2020). Enagbare was first-team All-SEC in 2020, a year after Wonnum made second-team All-SEC.
In his first season at Florida, Peterson coached Brenton Cox. Despite going undrafted, Cox made the 53-man roster for the Green Bay Packers in 2023.
Napier’s staff, including Peterson and Armstrong, have so far been able to sell development.
Peterson and Armstrong were involved in recruiting LJ McCray. The 5-star defensive lineman finished as the No. 4 overall player on the 247Sports Composite, making him the top defensive signee of Napier’s Florida tenure.
Umanmielen’s departure leaves a big hole to fill. He recorded 7 sacks on a defense that logged a combined 22 sacks in 2023. If Peterson can get Kelby Collins and T.J. Searcy to step up, Umanmielen’s development criticism loses some sting.
Maybe even McCray makes some noise in his first season.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
