Princely Umanmielen Talks Gator Football

On Saturday the Gators played Missouri in the Swamp, finishing the game with their first SEC victory of the season, 24-17. Defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen talked about past performances, practices, teammates and all things Gator.

Wins and Losses This Season

Umanmielen when asked about the win-lose ratio (4-2) and how some plays had been carried out, he said the Gators could have been 6-0 at this point.

“Upcoming games we have to be better and stop making so many mistakes,” Umanmielen said. “It’s a hard pill to swallow, we just realize how small mistakes make big differences.”

“I feel like we beat ourselves more than the team beat us,” he said.

Practice Performance

Umanmielen talked about his performance during practice time and the football games. He said he is taking practice more seriously, practicing like he is playing a game.

“Practice habits equal game-time performance,” he said.

He said he believes good practice habits translate to good plays on the field.

“I feel like have been practicing harder as a team,” he said.

Umanmielen on Team Energy

Umanmielen also talked about the team as a whole. He specifically noted praise for Ventrell Miller. He said the linebacker is one of the best in college football and an excellent leader.

He added throughout the week he was “way more vocal” and “very energetic.” Consequently, Umanmielen said Miller lost his voice from how much energy and excitement he had throughout the week.

“He’s a great leader when it comes to leading the team,” he said. “When he leads it just shows why he is a leader on the field.”

LSU Game: Then vs. Future

When talking about the next game against LSU, Umanmielen mentioned they have improved since last season.

“During LSU we were struggling against the counter play,” he said. “[We are emphasizing] being tight against the tackle and taking the tackles down.”