Five games into his LSU career, Princewill Umanmielen is the most productive pass rusher in college football. The senior defensive end sits at the top of the national leaderboard with 8 sacks, half a sack ahead of Texas’ Colin Simmons at 7.5. He also leads the SEC, and the Ole Miss transfer has given Blake Baker’s defense a new dimension.

Umanmielen didn’t need time to settle in. He recorded five sacks through LSU’s first two games, including three in the 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech. His most recent came Saturday against McNeese, when he logged his eighth sack of the season to force a three-and-out, and LSU then scored touchdowns on its next five drives in a 63-14 rout that closed out nonconference play with the Tigers at 4-1 on the year.

The production fills the biggest hole on last year’s defense. LSU finished 63rd in the nation in 2025 with just 27 sacks, and Umanmielen and Ed Orgeron were brought in to turn that around, and it’s working. LSU now ranks second nationally with 22 sacks as a team, just one behind Tennessee.

Kiffin credits the offseason. He said Umanmielen had been inconsistent at Ole Miss a year ago, but has since locked in, adding that “his number one thing is football.” Kiffin also praised Blake Baker for moving Umanmielen around to show offenses different looks.

The hot start comes with pressure from outside of football. Ole Miss’s July lawsuit claims Umanmielen owes the school $550,000 for transferring to LSU, and he was served court documents in the parking lot of LSU’s facility during the week of their rivalry game. LSU rallied from a 24-7 halftime hole to tie it in the fourth quarter, but fell 32-24 in Oxford. Umanmielen continues producing anyway.

He posted nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss at Ole Miss last season, and he’s nearly matched that sack total with seven games still left to play. With SEC play ahead, the next target is Arden Key’s LSU single-season sack record. Key set it at 12 sacks in 2016. At his current pace, Umanmielen is on track to blow past that.

— Eric Palmer, TigerSources