Nebraska’s Princewill Umanmielen’s potential tied to process

The Nebraska linebacker didn’t have much of a choice after playing his freshman year at 230 pounds. A meal plan devised by Nebraska team nutritionist Kristin Coggin helped him pack another 15 pounds onto his 6-foot-5 frame without sacrificing his speed and explosiveness.

He ate breakfast, lunch and dinner, provided by the nutrition staff. He likes burgers, which are still available. Sometimes there’s Japanese hibachi grilled food at the training table. Eventually, he wants his diet to get more creative.

It’s all in the service of taking a step forward as a sophomore.

Umanmielen enrolled at NU in January 2023 at 17 years old. He impressed in spring camp and then, in the fall, he played in 11 games, recording 22 tackles and a sack. He flashed potential that set expectations high for this year.

“Obviously he’s super talented,” NU linebackers coach Rob Dvoracek said. “Elite size for a player. He can move well in space. He can play on the ball. He can play off the ball. He can pass rush. He can cover. Ideally, that’s the type of guy that you want. He’s still a young player, too, so every day we’re pushing him to try to be the best player he could be.”

Umanmielen arrived at Nebraska as a defensive lineman before a switch to Jack linebacker early last season. The Jack can be a pass rusher but has more coverage responsibilities than a lineman. Umanmielen was able to fully settle into his new spot over the summer, a chance to focus on himself and his game outside of the whirlwind of his first college season.

Part of the adjustment was to the physicality required of the Jack. He had to be more aggressive. The gains he made in the weight room and through his diet have made him more comfortable playing the run; opposing offensive linemen can’t push him around like they could when he was barely out of high school.

Those changes, the experience and details he picked up from a year of college football, have tweaked Umanmielen into a different player than he was when he arrived, one he knows will show up in 2024.

“Sacks last year that I could have made, those will be made this year,” he said. “It’s just small detail stuff just like ripping and reaching at the end of my rush or just bending, pad level, anything.”

In 2023, Umanmielen learned what it takes for a freshman to see the field. A lot of it came down to effort and work ethic. He had to work harder than the veterans if he wanted to play with his natural disadvantage of weight and experience.

He returns as a sophomore with more of both. Coach Matt Rhule said Saturday he wants Umanmielen to focus on his process and become “a difference maker” for NU.

“The talent is everywhere,” Rhule said of Umanmielen. “And he’s a great, great, great young man. Loyal. Family guy. It’s just – last year, you’re a freshman, you have some success, some streaky success, you get some awards. Your second year? Now you’ve got to do it every day. Now you’ve got to do it every rep.

“That’s where guys make the jump.”

The Huskers still have a surplus of experience among their pass rushers; Ty Robinson is back for a sixth year. MJ Sherman, a former national champion at Georgia, is entering his second year at Nebraska as Umanmielen’s fellow Jack.

But even among a group with players who have been in college since Umanmielen was a ninth-grader, Umanmielen remains a crucial piece of the defense. Like the unit collectively, he’s coming off of a solid season. Now the player and team both want more.

“You have be physical,” Umanmielen said. “You can’t be soft. It’s straight aggressive. We have to be the best person on the field at all times.”