At 6-4, 244 pounds, Umanmielen can readily admit he’s able to dominate a lot of matchups purely from a size perspective. But size doesn’t always win out in the NFL where everyone is big, so he knew this past season would also require “developing a toolbox,” to borrow Dan Morgan’s words.
“Man, I think, having that (bend) ability just helps me to win fast,” explained Umanmielen. “I’m not a guy that sits there and does too much with the offensive tackle. If I can beat you now, I’m gonna beat you now and not give the quarterback any time with my bend and speed.”
Umanmielen joined the Panthers the same night as Nic Scourton out of Texas A&M. The two didn’t play each other this year, and Scourton only spent one year in the SEC, so Umanmielen admitted he didn’t know a ton about his new teammate. But he was sure of one thing—any fellow pass rusher coming out of the SEC had to be impressive.
“I’m not too familiar with him, but if they picked him that high, obviously they see something in him, so I’m just ready to go in and dominate with him,” Umanmielen said.
“I was actually committed to Texas in high school and I decommitted cause I wanted to play in the SEC. They were in the Big 12, at the time. I just feel like the SEC is the best competition and conference in college football. I feel like going up against SEC tackles every week prepares us as SEC defenders better than any other defender in any other conference.”