![Florida Gators defensive end Princely Umanmielen (1) walks on the field during Gator Walk at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 25, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_81,w_4356,h_2450/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/214/01j1sjrnt80ytqzg63ec.jpg "Florida Gators defensive end Princely Umanmielen (1) walks on the field during Gator Walk at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 25, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]")
The SEC Media Days will start in under two weeks, with teams having plenty of questions to answer regarding the team. One of those will be injuries, with Ole Miss fans aware of two.
Running back Logan Diggs is expected to be out for an extended period as he recovers from knee surgery. The other player who required off-season surgery was edge Princely Umanmielen, who had an operation on his shoulder. 247Sports Inside the Rebels has reported that well-placed sources have revealed a timeline for his return.
If the news is accurate, Umanmielen could return for the first SEC game in week 5 of the season. He would miss the games against Furman, Middle Tennessee, Wake Forest, and Georgia Southern, four games Ole Miss could win without the big defensive player.
Reports on the Inside the Rebels website said his rehab and recovery are going exceptionally well. If the Rebels had more formidable non-conference opponents, they may have rushed him back quicker. The good news is that Umanmielen can take his time recovering before the big conference games start.
Princely Umanmielen will see drastic improvement in 2024
When Princely Umanmielen gets onto the field in 2024 for the Rebels, expect to see a different player than the one you saw in Florida. In his four seasons with the Gators, Umanmielen registered 97 tackles, 15 sacks, and 24.5 tackles for loss. However, the Ole Miss coaching staff can squeeze even more out of him.
Umanmielen has already spoken about how the coaching staff at Ole Miss has pushed him to get more out of his ability at the edge position. We have seen defensive coordinator Pete Golding improve the defense in 2023, especially the defensive front alongside defensive line coach Randall Joyner. With Umanmielen's high ability, they can tap into that even more, as they did with Jared Ivey and JJ Pegues last season.
Alongside Texas A&M transfer Walter Nolen, expect big things from Princely Umanmielen in an Ole Miss jersey in 2024.