Ole Miss has taken the fight with LSU into the courtroom, filing breach-of-contract suits against edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen and offensive lineman Devin Harper over unpaid buyout money tied to their departures.
The school said Tuesday that it had followed through on a move it had warned about weeks earlier. In a statement, Ole Miss framed the issue as a matter of honoring agreements made with student-athletes and expecting the same in return.
“The University of Mississippi values its student-athletes and is committed to honoring all obligations made to them. In return, the university expects that same commitment from its student-athletes and their representatives in upholding their contracts,” the university said in a statement.
“Before transferring to another institution, student-athletes Devin Harper and Princewill Umanmielen signed revenue sharing agreements that included a provision requiring them to compensate the university with a predetermined amount if they departed before fulfilling their commitment. The University of Mississippi has a responsibility to enforce its contractual terms, and this position is consistent with the actions of other institutions in the current landscape of college athletics. The university attempted to amicably resolve this matter prior to filing.”
Neither player responded to a request for comment, and LSU said no comment.
Umanmielen and Harper both followed Lane Kiffin from Oxford to Baton Rouge after last season. They were not alone - linebacker TJ Dottery also made the move - but Ole Miss says Umanmielen and Harper missed the deadlines to pay the buyout amounts required under their revenue-sharing agreements. The school did not disclose the figure, though On3 reported it was just short of $1 million.
Umanmielen, a senior, has put together 10.5 sacks and 20 tackles for loss over two seasons at Nebraska and one at Ole Miss. Last season for the Rebels, he finished with nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss.
Ole Miss laid out a detailed timeline for his case. On Jan. 3 at 10:02 p.m., Umanmielen signed a revenue-sharing agreement with the school.
On Jan. 20 at 11:40 p.m., he entered the transfer portal. By Jan. 21 at 9:59 a.m., he had signed a scholarship with LSU.
Ole Miss says it sent him a letter on Jan. 22 asking for payment, but got no response. The 30-day deadline passed on Feb. 19 without payment.
On March 12, Ole Miss contacted LSU seeking payment on Umanmielen’s behalf. LSU denied the request on March 18, saying it was not a party to the contract.
Then on July 27, Ole Miss filed suit for breach of contract and again contacted Umanmielen and LSU, asking for payment to avoid additional costs.
Harper’s timeline is similar. The sophomore played in six games as a reserve for Ole Miss last year.
He signed a revenue-sharing agreement on Jan. 6, entered the transfer portal on Jan. 14 at 7:36 p.m., and signed a scholarship with LSU on Jan. 16 at 1:23 p.m. Ole Miss says it sent Harper a payment request that same day, received no response, and then hit the 30-day deadline on Feb. 13 without payment.
The school contacted LSU on March 12 asking for payment on Harper’s behalf, and LSU again declined on March 18, saying it was not a party to the contract. Ole Miss filed suit on July 27 and also reached out to Harper and LSU that day to request payment and avoid additional costs.
The lawsuits arrive in the middle of a much bigger mess between Ole Miss and Kiffin. Kiffin announced he was leaving for LSU after the regular season, and Ole Miss refused to let him coach the team in the College Football Playoff. Instead, the school elevated defensive coordinator Pete Golding to head coach, and Golding guided the Rebels to the CFP semifinals.
Golding later found himself in another dispute, this one involving Clemson, which alleged Ole Miss tampered to land linebacker Luke Forelli after he had already enrolled at Clemson. The NCAA is investigating that matter.
The Kiffin split has brought plenty of noise on its own. There was the spring dust-up over his comments to Vanity Fair about Ole Miss’ racial history. There was also the back-and-forth over which coaches would leave for LSU, with some departing before the Playoff and others staying through it before heading out, including offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.
Ole Miss’ legal action is not the first time a school has gone after a player over buyout money. Georgia has sued Damon Wilson after he transferred to Missouri last year, one of several similar cases.
Still, these suits land in a very specific moment, with Ole Miss and LSU already tangled in all the fallout from Kiffin’s departure. The teams are set to meet in Week 3 in Oxford.
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