Watching Princewill Umanmielen put up monster numbers in the SEC, the Nebraska football coaches are likely still feeling the sting of losing the sackmaster in the Transfer Portal. On the other hand, as the drama unfolds around him, the Huskers staff may feel like it dodged a bullet.
Earlier this week, the latest chapter of this ever-evolving soap opera hit when Umanmielen was served with court papers related to the Ole Miss lawsuit against him. He received them in the parking lot outside the LSU football facility on Tuesday.
The lawsuit itself is not new. After transferring to Ole Miss from Nebraska ahead of the 2025 season, Umanmielen departed the Rebels and joined LSU last winter, not long after former Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin joined the Bayou Bengals. The legal dispute stems from how the defensive end left Ole Miss as part of a large group of players who followed Kiffin to Baton Rouge. That situation has created an ongoing legal mess involving the NCAA, Ole Miss, LSU, and the SEC.
In the grand scheme, serving the defensive star is just another required step in the lawsuit. Getting the court papers isn’t really the story. It’s that Ole Miss waited until Wednesday morning of game week to serve them on a player who is actively preparing to play against them on Saturday. Whether or not there is a legitimate procedural reason for the timing, the optics scream gamesmanship.
Nebraska football avoids Princewill Umanmielen drama as Ole Miss-LSU feud intensifies
If you’re a player locked in on your preparation for one of the most heated rivalry matchups in recent college football history, and someone walks up to you in a parking lot and hands you legal documents from the university you’re about to play against, that is going to get inside your head at least a little bit.
Even if Umanmielen believes he can channel whatever anger he feels about what went down Tuesday morning, he might overpursue on a play or find himself out of position on a crucial down. Even if Ole Miss can’t attribute that misplay to the legal issue, it would make their handling of it this week worth it.
Louisiana governor Jeff Landry is among those who feel yesterday’s move was more gamesmanship than legal requirement. On Wednesday afternoon, he weighed in on social media: “The process server found Princewill in the LSU Football Ops parking lot. [Ole Miss AD]Keith Carter could have saved Ole Miss some money and waited until Saturday. He’ll be easy to find in the Ole Miss backfield often!”
While Landry might be talking trash, he could be doing it from a prophetic place. Princewill Umanmielen's ability to get to the quarterback was unlocked once he got to Ole Miss. Entering 2025 with 35 career tackles and 1.5 career sacks, he logged 45 tackles and 9 sacks last season. This year, through just two games, he already has 11 tackles and 5 sacks for LSU.
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