Next up in the summer scouting series is Princely Umanmielen, an EDGE from the SEC who has changed schools this offseason.
Umanmielen is another player that many expected to turn pro after the 2023 season. Instead, he opted to transfer from Florida to SEC rival Ole Miss. The 22-year-old played four seasons in Gainesville and is coming off a season where he racked up 39 tackles, 9.5 TFLs, 4.5 sacks and forced two fumbles.
Listed at 6-foot-5 and 256 pounds, Umanmielen has played both stand-up OLB and from the three-point stance inline, and he attacks from either side of the defensive formation. He’s got long arms and wraps well when he gets a paw on a target.
He’s got a nice spin move, one that isn’t as sudden as more twitchy players. Instead, Umanmielen uses his length to leverage off the blocker and clear himself a lot of space with his spin, and he can go either inside or outside with the spin.
While it doesn’t always show, Umanmielen can flatten around the edge to close on the quarterback. This is a combination of exploiting a bad pass-pro set by the left tackle but also finishing with a great tack to pop Spencer Rattler with controlled authority.
Umanmielen has good-not-great initial burst on the edge, but he does understand how to use his quickness off the snap inside nicely. There’s a nice perceptiveness to his game that allows Umanmielen to quickly react to a blocking set or a zone block that works better when he’s inside than outside. The ability to knife between the guard and tackle on run plays and play-action passes is probably his best attribute at the moment.
In run defense, he’s been largely boom-or-bust. The disruptiveness to get behind the line and wreak havoc on the timing and gap fits can be great. Alas, there’s a lot of Umanmielen opting to attack the block instead of the ball, akin to a younger Preston Smith. The ability to shed blocks is still a work in progress, though it seems more of a technical issue than an effort one. It will be interesting to see if transferring to Ole Miss and a different staff helps Umanmielen here.
Overall, Princely Umanmielen is a very appealing draft prospect entering his final college season. The length, quickness and ability to bend the edge should have him very prominent in preseason mock drafts and give Umanmielen the potential to come off the board very early in the 2025 NFL Draft.
