Ole Miss edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen is following coach Lane Kiffin to LSU.
Hours after entering the transfer portal, Umanmielen committed to the Tigers, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett.
Just a few weeks ago, Ole Miss touted his return to Oxford for the 2026 season.
According to Rebels247’s Chase Parham, the school will receive a $550,000 buyout from Umanmielen’s transfer, while Garland Gillen of Fox 8 in New Orleans reported he’s signing a $1 million NIL deal with LSU.
Having transferred in from Nebraska, Umanmielen was a standout performer in his one season with Ole Miss. He had nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss in 15 appearances, earning third-team All-SEC honors.
The 6’5″, 245-pound defender will help to provide a dimension that was missing for LSU in 2025. No Tigers player finished with more than four sacks, and sack leader Harold Perkins Jr. is moving on to the NFL.
Beyond poaching Kiffin from Ole Miss, Wilson Alexander of The Advocate reported LSU was prepared to spend between $25-$30 million on the roster.
The tangible impact of that is evident from the fact the Tigers rank first in 247Sports’ composite team rankings for the transfer portal. Former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt is the crown jewel of the group.
The expectations for Year 1 of the Kiffin era will be through the roof. It’s not going to be a championship-or-bust kind of season, but a win or two in the College Football Playoff is the minimum bar.
The coaching staff is at least assembling a roster strong enough to fulfill those ambitions.