Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford will draw plenty of attention Saturday, but he won’t be the only LSU figure making a homecoming.
When No. 7 LSU meets No.
8 Ole Miss, three Tigers who wore red and blue a year ago will be on the other sideline: Princewill Umanmielen, TJ Dottery and Winston Watkins Jr. All three transferred from Ole Miss to LSU this offseason, and all three could end up shaping the Magnolia Bowl.
Umanmielen has wasted no time becoming one of LSU’s most dangerous defenders. The edge rusher posted nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss in his lone season at Ole Miss, then picked up right where he left off in Baton Rouge. Through LSU’s first two games, he already has five sacks.
His biggest outing came against Louisiana Tech, when he finished with five tackles and three sacks in LSU’s 45-14 win. That kind of disruption has given the Tigers a jolt off the edge.
The challenge Saturday could be keeping Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss under control. Chambliss beat LSU last season by going 23-of-39 for 314 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 71 yards in the Rebels’ 24-19 victory. Umanmielen knows him well from their time together at Ole Miss, but he downplayed the idea that the familiarity gives him any special edge.
"I wouldn't say it gives me an edge," Umanmielen said this week. "I'm still attacking the same way, looking at film, seeing stuff that I hadn't seen before and take it like a regular game."
Still, LSU’s pass rush has been one of the defense’s biggest strengths so far, and Umanmielen’s pressure could be a major factor in how Saturday plays out.
Dottery has brought a different kind of value. The linebacker led the SEC with 98 tackles for Ole Miss last season before following Kiffin to LSU, and he has already become one of the Tigers’ most productive defenders. He leads LSU with 14 tackles, including nine against Louisiana Tech.
Beyond the numbers, Dottery gives LSU something that can’t be measured on a stat sheet. He spent the last two seasons starting for Ole Miss, so he knows the personnel LSU will face and understands a lot of the tendencies on that side of the ball. Umanmielen said this week that he and Dottery have shared information about Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy with their LSU teammates.
Watkins brings the most intriguing offensive angle of the three. As a freshman at Ole Miss last season, he caught 26 passes for 373 yards and one touchdown, including three catches for 38 yards against LSU in Oxford. Now he’s back in the same matchup wearing purple and gold.
He has already carved out a real role in LSU’s passing game. Watkins opened the season with seven catches for 110 yards and a touchdown against Clemson, then added five receptions for 43 yards against Louisiana Tech. That gives him 12 catches for 153 yards through two games.
For a player in a crowded receiver room, Watkins has made a fast impression. Saturday gives him a chance to show Ole Miss just how much his game has grown.
Kiffin’s return will be the headline, but LSU’s Ole Miss ties run deeper than the head coach. Umanmielen knows the quarterback.
Dottery knows the offense. Watkins knows the defense.
And LSU is counting on all three not just because they know Ole Miss, but because they’ve already become key pieces for the Tigers.
That’s what makes this trip back to Oxford more than a storyline. It could help decide who leaves Vaught-Hemingway Stadium with the win.
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