The Florida Gators found themselves a gem of a pass rusher in the 2020 recruiting class. Princely Umanmielen will be an NFL player on Sundays. But what does his scouting report look like, and how high could his stock rise before the NFL Draft comes around in April?
Princely Umanmielen Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’5″
- Weight: 255
- Position: EDGE
- School: Florida
- Current Year: Junior
Princely is not the only Umanmielen in college football. In fact, he’s one of three current Umanmielen brothers playing at the Division I level. His older brother, Prince, is a senior at Tarleton State, and his younger brother, Princewell, is a freshman at Nebraska.
Umanmielen was considered a four-star recruit by 247Sports, Rivals, and ESPN. ESPN was the only outlet to rank him nationally. For them, he was the 195th-best recruit in the nation.
The long edge rusher entered his senior season after posting 4.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss in 2022. He played only sparingly for the Gators before last season, but his unique athleticism and prototypical build quickly intrigued talent evaluators.
Princely Umanmielen Scouting Report
Strengths
- Length is an unfair advantage
- Uncoils to deliver violent strikes when setting the edge
- Positive run defender
- Athletic versatility to survive in spot drop coverage
- Natural flexibility in hips and ankles
- Explosive lateral agility to slice across OTs’ faces and make backside run stops
- Possesses an outrageous spin counter
- Plays with ferocious energy
- Surprising power in long 250-pound frame
Weaknesses
- Coverage use lessens the ability to produce statistical excellence as a rusher
- Lacks feel in coverage and could get picked on at next level if used there often (Just let him rush)
- Hands and pass rush plan overall are still underdeveloped
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Few edge rushers in the college football landscape boast the combination of length, strength, and explosiveness that Umanmielen has. The Florida EDGE often plays in unnatural positions in space, particularly against spread opponents, which takes him away from 1-on-1 matchups that other rushers get on the defensive line.
MORE: 2024 NFL Draft Big Board
His athleticism makes him the odd man out … pun intended … of the box so he can defend against “now” screens. So when his production as a pass rusher is inevitably brought up as a knock against him during the NFL Draft cycle, it will be important to understand the context of his deployment for the Gators.
Umanmielen is the archetype of pass rusher that the NFL has bet the farm on recently. Bendy and athletic rushers with a bit of technical rawness are developing at a rate faster than we’ve ever seen before. The Gators’ rusher isn’t such a blank slate that he couldn’t contribute immediately, but he will need to sharpen his hand usage.