Princely Umanmielen is eager to play in front of a large group of family and friends on Saturday when the Gators face Texas A&M in College Station. (Photo: Isabella Marley/UAA Communications)
Gators Q&A: Defensive Lineman Princely Umanmielen
Thursday, November 3, 2022 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — He grew up in the Lone Star State, but his heart was elsewhere when it came to college football.
Gators defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen was a sought-after recruit in 2019 at Manor (Texas) High, located about 20 miles northeast of downtown Austin and 100 miles west of College Station. Naturally, one might expect Umanmielen to have a deep affinity for either the Longhorns or Aggies.
They would be wrong.
"I'm glad you asked that,'' Umanmielen told reporters after practice Wednesday. "Because even though I grew up in Texas, I was never a fan of either. I had three dream schools while I was young: Miami, Oregon and LSU. I never like leaned toward being a Texas and Texas A&M fan. I was committed to Texas at first in high school, but then I just really I felt like NFL scouts and things like that respect the SEC, and D-Lines in the SEC more, so it made me want to go to an SEC school.
"Really, there's no love for the Aggies or Longhorns."
Princely Umanmielen sprints toward the ball in the Florida-Georgia game last week in Jacksonville. (Photo: Isabella Marley/UAA Communications)
Hence, that is how Umanmielen finds himself with the Gators as they head to Texas A&M for Saturday's Southeastern Conference clash at Kyle Field. A third-year sophomore defensive lineman, Umanmielen has started six games this season and his 22 tackles rank eighth on the team.
Umanmielen's homecoming Saturday is a highly anticipated event back in Manor.
"It's my first time in college playing in front of my friends and family, so it's been really giving me a lot of motivation to put on a show and help the team out,'' said Umanmielen, who scrambled to secure around 25 tickets. "I was able to come up with some."
Here is more from Umanmielen, who recorded 10 sacks and 27 tackles for loss in his final season at Manor. The Gators could use some of that Umanmielen on Saturday. PRINCELY UMANMIELEN Q&A
Q: What does the loss of Brenton Cox Jr. do to the defense? A: Brenton was a really good player, but I just feel like there was a lot talent under him that's going to be put on display because the guys behind him aren't like, that far behind him. Antwaun Powell he's a great pass rusher, Lloyd Summerall, David Reese, those are big-time guys that can step up and help the team out.
Q: What about you feeling the need to step up to help with Cox gone? A: Losing him, it just made me feel like I've got to go harder also because that's a big-time pass rusher we're losing on the other side, so you know I've got to go harder and make up for that a little bit.
Q: What's the team unity like coming off a couple of losses? A: I think we get closer as the season goes on. I feel like camp is when everybody's tired. Tempers are flaring, things like that. As the season goes on you're going against other competition that's not just ourselves. We grow closer as a team.
Q: Any thoughts on new Texas A&M quarter Conner Weigman? A: I don't think that their quarterbacks are too much different. They aren't really running quarterbacks. I feel like they want to throw the ball first. That will be a small advantage when it comes to pass rush.
Q: Could you line up at Cox's JACK position if needed? A: That's a good question. That room, they do have a lot of depth. When it comes to things like third down and when we go different packages, I feel like in some of the situations I could do what he did.
Q: What's the message to keep the scoring down against A&M? A:Stop the run so we can get to third down. Stop them on third down. It's really that simple. They've got a young quarterback, so it's going to be a test for him. We've just got to apply the pressure ... Coach showed four specific defensive plays [from Georgia] loss. If one person did something right, then they wouldn't have gotten a big gain or scored a touchdown. We just have to make sure that every single play, all 11 guys are executing their job.
