ESPN’s latest look at the best college football players in the country includes a pair of LSU standouts, with defensive end Princewill Umanmielen landing at No. 8 and offensive tackle Jordan Seaton checking in at No. 18 on the list of the Top 25 players through the first half of the 2026 season.
Umanmielen has turned into a major force for LSU after following coach Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss. ESPN pointed to him as a key addition to a defensive front that needed a premium pass rusher, and his production has backed that up. He opened the season with two sacks against Clemson, then added three more the following week against Louisiana Tech.
The numbers have put the 6-4, 256-pound senior among the nation’s best. He has 15 solo tackles, eight sacks and 11 tackles for loss this season, and ESPN noted that he is tied for second nationally in sacks and tied for third in tackles for loss. That pace puts him on track to top his 2025 totals at Ole Miss, when he finished with nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss.
Seaton has also made a major impact, and in a different way. The junior offensive tackle came to LSU after a standout year at Colorado, where he allowed just three pressures and no sacks in nine games. ESPN said he has carried that level of play into the SEC.
Through seven starts, Seaton has posted five perfect games and has not been charged with a blown block. His 2026 notable stat is zero sacks allowed, a huge reason LSU has gotten stability up front on an offense made up almost entirely of new pieces. ESPN described him as a godsend for a team that has not had a stable offensive line in quite a while.
Before the season, Umanmielen was ranked No. 80 and Seaton was slotted at No. 34.
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Harris, a redshirt junior transfer from Hawaii, has earned the staffs trust during Greens absence and is expected to be available despite a recent ankle injury. For LSU, the timing creates an interesting adjustment point: the Tigers suddenly have more than one pass-catching threat to sort through, and how they balance Greens return with Harriss momentum could shape the way the offense looks going forward. [Read more 🡒]