By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Attorneys representing Ole Miss served court papers to LSU star edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen as the former Ole Miss edge rusher was walking in the parking lot outside the LSU Football operations building on Tuesday, according to an ESPN report on Wednesday morning.
The papers contained questions and document requests for Umanmielen, whom Ole Miss sued last July 27 for $550,000 in a breach of contract lawsuit. The suit says Umanmielen signed with LSU last January 21 after entering the transfer portal on January 20 and signing with Ole Miss on January 3 for the 2026 season at $550,000.
NEWS: LSU defensive end Princewill Umanmielen was served with court papers Tuesday related to the Ole Miss' lawsuit against him, according to court records. Umanmielen received the papers in the parking lot outside the LSU football facility on Tuesday, per ESPN sources.…
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 16, 2026
Ole Miss also served Umanmielen and LSU with a dose of gamesmanship going into the first top 10 pairing between the two border rivals since 1962. No. 7 LSU (2-0) plays at No. 8 Ole Miss (2-0) on Saturday (6:30 p.m., ABC) with ESPN’s GameDay broadcasting from the Ole Miss campus that morning. The game features the return of Lane Kiffin, who left the Ole Miss head coaching job after six years following the 2025 regular season to be LSU’s head coach.
“FORE!” … Lane Kiffin’s returning to Ole Miss, like when he returned to Tennessee, so alert the golf cops. And will LSU schedule a game at USC?https://t.co/BPyegaauFS
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) September 16, 2026
Kiffin brought with him four Rebels from his 11-1 team (7-1 Southeastern Conference) that he put into the College Football Playoff before leaving for Baton Rouge on Nov. 30. Also being sued by Ole Miss for breach of contract at $400,000 is offensive lineman Devin Harper, who also signed with LSU after signing with Ole Miss last January, according to the lawsuit.
LSU starting wide receiver Winnie Watkins Jr. and starting linebacker TJ Dottery also transferred from Ole Miss to Kiffin last January, but apparently did it without breaking contracts.
It is unknown if Harper has also been served papers yet by Ole Miss, but there are still three working days left before game day.
Gamesmanship is defined as the “the practice of using clever, dubious, or borderline tactics to win a game or gain an advantage without actually breaking any official rules.”
Umanmielen (6-foot-4, 244 pounds) is a fifth-year senior who led Ole Miss in sacks last season with nine and in tackles for loss with 13. He leads all of college football so far this season with five sacks in just two games, and his seven stops for loss also lead the nation. Umanmielen sacked Louisiana Tech quarterback Blake Baker three times in the Tigers’ 45-14 win on Saturday night.
What timing by Ole Miss’ legal team!
“The timing of the action is expected to only raise tensions between the teams,” Thamel said in his story.
But the Lafayette County circuit court in Oxford did issue a summons for Umanmielen and Harper on Aug. 14 stating each 30 days to respond. That deadline passed before Tuesday.
Baton Rouge attorney Franz Borghardt, who has been an adjunct professor at LSU, said Ole Miss attorneys serving Umanmielen with papers on Tuesday is more game strategy than deadline diligence.
“This is absolutely psychological warfare by Ole Miss,” Borghardt told Tiger Rag on Wednesday. “And look, there’s no love lost between Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin. There’s not going to be any love lost between LSU and Ole Miss, so this is kind of par for the course.”
Umanmielen received his first set of questions and requests for admission on Tuesday, according to the Lafayette County circuit court.
“We defer to our initial statement on the matter and have no further comment,” Ole Miss officials said in a statement to ESPN on Wednesday.
LSU athletic department spokesman Zach Greenwell had no comment to Tiger Rag on Wednesday.
The lawsuit says Harper, a backup freshman offensive lineman from Calvary Baptist High in Shreveport at Ole Miss last season, signed with Ole Miss for 2026 on January 6, but entered the portal on Jan. 14 and signed with LSU on Jan. 16. He has been a backup for LSU so far this season as a sophomore and has logged 23 snaps.
Each contract stated that there would be penalties for Umanmielen and Harper if they broke the Ole Miss contracts within 90 days, according to the lawsuit. Ole Miss first requested payment from each player on Jan. 16 and Jan. 22, but neither player responded.
Be the first to comment