Tag: Princely Umanmielen

Two Florida transfers ranked among ESPN’s top 10 portal players

Two Florida Gators that have entered the transfer portal are among the 10 best available, according to ESPN’s latest player rankings update

Two Florida Gators that have entered the transfer portal are among the 10 best available, according to ESPN’s latest rankings update.

The transfer portal has turned into college football’s version of free agency, with high-profile players hitting the open market. Name, image and likeness deals play a big part in many decisions, but at the end of the day it’s all about talent.

ESPN says that Florida is losing to extremely talented players, especially compared to the rest of the crop. Edge rusher [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag] is ranked No. 7 overall by the industry leader, and running back [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag] checks in at No. 9 on the list. Both are the first players mentioned at their respective positions.

“Umanmielen played in all 13 games during the 2022 season and had 39 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks,” staff writer Tom VanHaaren wrote.

“This season, he led the team this season in tackles for loss with 11.5, and also led the team in sacks with seven. He was mentioned as a possible selection in the upcoming NFL draft if he were to declare, but made a surprising decision to enter the transfer portal with a year of eligibility. He has been productive within the SEC and has the size and experience to make a big impact on a new team.”

Players in the transfer portal don’t have to leave the team, though. Umanmielen has publicly stated that he would consider staying based on the new defensive line coach hire, but he’s still expected to transfer out at this point.

Etienne is a different story. There’s little hope for a return there, and he could end up at Georgia. Talk about rubbing salt in the wound.

The Gators are mentioned among a long list of suitors for Penn defensive tackle Joey Slackman, who checks in at No. 8 between the two Gators mentioned above.

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Florida’s top EDGE returning to college football, entering transfer portal

Most Gators fans expected defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen to turn pro, but he made the surprising decision to return to college football and enter the transfer portal on Wednesday.

Florida edge defender [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag] is leaving the program, but not for the NFL as many expected.

Umanmielen announced his return to college football on Wednesday, adding his intentions to enter the transfer portal after four years with the Gators. Umanmielen was one of Florida’s most effective defenders this season, leading the team in tackles for loss (11.5) and sacks (7.0).

“After a lot of thought, prayers, and conversations, I would like to state that I will be returning to college football, but I will be entering my name in the transfer portal,” Umanmielen wrote. “We all must do what is best for us and I think this is what is best for me at the time. Thank you, Gator Nation.”

Dan Mullen’s staff signed Umanmielen as a four-star defensive end in the class of 2020. He played in six games during the COVID season and played all 38 games for the Gators over the next three seasons.

Umanmielen took over the No. 1 jersey as a senior in 2023. He leaves Gainesville with 99 total tackles (48 solo), 24.5 tackles for loss, 15 sacks and three forced fumbles.

In some ways, Florida won’t be hurt by the loss of an incredibly talented player. Umanmielen was always a potential draft guy, and Billy Napier’s staff should have a plan to replace him. Still, it’ll be tough to watch Umanmielen thrive in another uniform, especially if it’s inside the SEC.

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Top Florida pass rusher opts to transfer, won’t enter 2024 NFL draft

Top Florida pass rusher Princely Umanmielen opts to transfer, won’t enter 2024 NFL draft

One of the more intriguing pass rushers from the SEC has made the decision not to enter the 2024 NFL draft. Florida EDGE Princely Umanmielen revealed in a social media post that he will stay in the world of college football, but it won’t be with the Gators.

Umanmielen led the Gator with seven sacks in 12 games in 2023. He was the only Florida defender to top two sacks. The 6-foot-5, 255-pounder also led the Gators with 11.5 TFLs. He had been projected as a Day 2 pick if he opted to declare for the 2024 NFL draft.

Instead, he’ll be playing elsewhere in college in 2024.

“After a lot of thoughts, prayers, and conversations, I would like to state that I will be returning to college football, but I will be entering my name in the transfer portal,” Umanmielen wrote.

No indication of where the talented four-year player will transfer as of yet.

What DE Princely Umanmielen had to say on Monday ahead of FSU game

Here’s what Florida’s junior defensive end had to say on Monday to the press.

The last game of the regular season is nigh for Florida football with just a game remaining against the Florida States Seminoles at home in Week 13. The Gators have limped to the finish line, having lost their last four straight games and still a win short of earning a bowl berth.

The Orange and Blue had a shot at an upset victory against the Missouri Tigers on the road in the last game, but unfortunately, costly errors doomed Billy Napier’s boys down the stretch en route to a 33-31 loss. FSU will be no easier — despite the loss of their Heisman candidate quarterback — coming into the game ranked fourth in the nation and undefeated.

Now that the dust has settled on Week 12 and the upcoming weekend is in sight, members of the Gators roster along with their head coach spoke with the sports media on Monday.

Junior defensive end [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag] was among those who talked to the sports media on Monday, answering questions about the Week 12 loss as well as looking ahead to Week 13. Below is an abridged version of his responses to their queries.

Florida EDGE talks dealing with social media criticism

College athletes are criticized by the fans daily, and social media has only made the players more accessible.

Florida’s 5-3 record looks good on the surface, but poll any random Gators fan on the street and you’re at risk of hearing a long list of criticisms regarding the coaches, players and program.

College football fans will be college football fans, right?

The social media age has exponentially increased the amount of armchair coaches across the country, and the SEC features the most critical of such fans. Gator Nation expects excellence, and the Gasparilla/Las Vegas/Duke’s Mayo Bowl isn’t cutting it.

The players hear all that noise, especially when scrolling through X (formerly known as Twitter) after a game. Win or loss, someone on the internet is upset and tagging a player with several expletives attached. It’s rare, but sometimes those player respond.

In the build up to the Georgia game, it was Florida edge rusher Princely Umanmielen who couldn’t help but clap back at a fan.

“You Twitter coaches are hilarious,” Umanmielen wrote Oct. 26. “I was supposed to do that. But let y’all tell it.”

Following the Georgia game, wide receiver Ricky Pearsall took to X to call out a Gators fan calling for quarterback Graham Mertz to “take off the 15 jersey.”

Umanmielen admitted on Monday that he hasn’t gotten much better at blocking out the noise. Strength and Conditioning coach Mark Hocke has worked with him on tuning things out. Umanmielen says there’s more that he doesn’t respond to than he does.

“I’m learning. It’s really hard because it’s not like I just want to, you feel me, go at people,” he said. “I feel like I have to be defending myself sometimes, because people looking with a blind eye. But, yeah, I’m learning.”

Umanmielen knows the criticism will only get worse once he reaches the next level, too. Figuring out how to deal with it now will be key to keeping clear head in the pros.

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Florida defensive end among nation’s leading pass rushers

Umanmielen is one of the top pass rushers in the nation this fall.

It has been yet another rough season for Florida football on the defensive side of the ball, but as always, there are some silver linings despite a corps that has left a bit to be desired the last few seasons.

One of those bright shining lights is junior defensive end [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag], a leftover from the Dan Mullen era who has broken out this season as a pass rusher.

According to Pro Football Focus before Week 8’s action, Umanmielen was tied for third among those who have amassed the most quarterback pressures this fall with 32. That knotted him up with Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman James Pearce Jr. on the list.

At the top of the list is Alabama Crimson Tide edge defender Dallas Turner with 35, followed by a trio in second place that comprises of Louisville Cardinal Ashton Gillote, Purdue Boilermaker Kydran Jenkins and North Carolina Tar Heel Kaimon Rucker.

Next up for the Gators is their annual rivalry game against the Georgia Bulldogs which will take place at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida, on Oct. 28, with a kickoff time of 3:30 p.m. EDT set. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports.

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Gators EDGE named to 2023 Lombardi Award Midseason Watchlist

Florida edge rusher Princely Umanmielen was named to the Lombardi Award Midseason Watchlist on Tuesday.

The Lombardi Award named Florida JACK linebacker [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag] to its midseason watchlist on Tuesday.

The watchlist is described as “a compilation of exceptional linemen from across college football,” which is “carefully curated by a subcommittee of the Lombardi Award committee, focusing on players’ past on-field performances and potential for the remainder of the 2023 college football season.”

The list is made up of 100 players across all 10 FBS conferences. Umanmielen is one of 16 SEC players to make the cut. The Big Ten leads the way with 20 selections.

Umanmielen has served as the veteran leader of Florida’s defense all year long and is one of the top pass rushers in the country, according to Pro Football Focus. His 90.6 pass-rush grade is the 23rd-best figure in all of FBS, and Florida plays one of the toughest schedules in the country. His 21 quarterback hurries rank sixth in the nation.

There’s no telling where this young Gators defense would be without Umanmielen, and he’ll get a chance to really prove himself against Georgia, Florida State and LSU in the second half of the season.

Semi-finalists will be determined through a voting period that begins Wednesday and extends through Oct. 30. They will be announced on the first day of November.

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College Sports Wire names Gators edge rusher for All-SEC team

The junior from Manor, Texas has collected two sacks this season along with the second most tackles-for-loss for Florida with four.

We’ve arrived to the mid-point of the 2023 college football season and it’s clear which players are standing out on the gridiron and destined to be all-time players.

The Florida Gators have plenty of talented athletes on its defensive front and coordinator Austin Armstrong has been utilizing his big weapons of front to hold every opponent (besides Kentucky) to less than 25 points.

College Sports Wire staff writer Ryan Haley listed his choice for the 2023 All-SEC selections. He wrote that the best defensemen are difficult to choose, but he’s giving his votes with confidence.

“Another position easily fooled by the box score, the best defensive linemen don’t always rack up counting stats,” Haley wrote. “Georgia’s Jordan Davis was one of the more dominant defensive tackles in recent years despite only tallying 32 tackles and two sacks his last year in Athens. There’s no perfect way to measure the best, and the SEC always has the best linemen on both sides of the ball, but here are some of its standouts.”

Representing the Florida Gators is edge rusher [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag], who has been getting to the backfield with ease and leads the Gator defense in sacks. The junior from Manor, Texas has collected two sacks this season along with the second most tackles-for-loss for Florida with four.

Umanmielen has racked up 14 total tackles while on the field.

Also on the edge for Haley’s All-SEC list is James Pearce Jr., who’s had just about the same success as Umanmielen, collecting 10 total tackles and getting to the quarterback for five sacks.

Umanmielen and the Florida Gators will travel to Columbia, South Carolina, to take on the Gamecocks in a mid-afternoon matchup at 3:30 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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Florida EDGE honored by East-West Shrine Bowl following Week 6 win

Florida’s front seven is led by edge rusher Princely Umanmielen, who was named a Breakout Player of the Week following the Vanderbilt win.

he East-West Shrine Bowl named Florida edge rusher [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag] a breakout play of the week following the Gators’ win over Vanderbilt on Saturday.

Umanmielen is one of three defensive players and eight players overall to earn the weekly honor. Texas Tech edge rusher Steve Linton and Louisville cornerback Quincy Riley are the other defenders. Georgia quarterback Carson Beck is the only other SEC player on the list.

While this may be a weekly honor, Umanmielen has been one of the best edge rushers in the country this season. Pro Football Focus gives him an 81.5 overall rating on defense, and his 90.3 pass-rushing rating is good for third-best among Power Five edge rushers who have played at least 100 snaps.

Umanmielen has 25 total quarterback pressures, including 15 hurries, eight hits, and two sacks. Four of those hurries came against Vanderbilt on Saturday.

Florida’s defensive line might be the most-improved unit of the year, and much of that is thanks to Umanmielen leading by example. He’ll look to continue his career season as he moves closer to the 2024 draft.

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Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders landed in the NFC South in this two-round mock draft

Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders landed in the NFC South in this two-round mock draft, but who are the Saints projected to pick?

The NFC South experienced some big developments in this two-round 2024 mock draft from Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy, updated after an exciting slate of college football action — including the addition of impressive Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders as a regular opponent for the New Orleans Saints.

Hot off a 510-yard, 4-touchdown pass performance in last week’s stunning upset of TCU, Sanders is already generating a ton of NFL interest despite his status as a junior. If he does turn pro he could end up with a quarterback-needy team and quickly become a problem for the Saints with a division rival like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (as in this projection). Sanders will have another opportunity to play in front of pro scouts next Saturday against Nebraska.

But who did the Saints pick in Popejoy’s projection? They used their first round pick at No. 20 overall on Ohio State left guard Donovan Jackson. He looks the part of a Saints draft pick from his position to his athletic measurements and obvious fit at left guard. Andrus Peat and Cesar Ruiz are on track to be free agents in 2024 and James Hurst will be entering the final year of his contract, so adding Jackson would make a lot of sense.

That’s not all, though. The Saints also own the Denver Broncos’ pick in the second round at No. 48 overall (through their trade for Sean Payton) and in this scenario they use it on Florida defensive end Princely Umanmielen. He just fits the athletic standards they maintain at the position at a listed 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds and he’s improved year over year as a pass rusher. A strong season could put him on New Orleans’ radar with an uncertain future at defensive end. They’re always looking to invest early-round picks in trench players.

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