Two Gators show up big in Texas homecoming
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Life takes you to unexpected places. Love takes you home. For two Florida Gators, life took them out of Texas to pursue their NFL dreams at the University of Florida. Saturday was a chance to go back home.
Defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen (Manor, Texas) and receiver Caleb Douglas (Missouri City, Texas) were excited to get back to the lone star state this week.
“It’s my first time in college playing in front of my friends and family, so it’s been really giving me a lot of motivation to put on a show and help the team out,” Umanmielen said Wednesday before the game.
The third-year sophomore spent his week scrambling around the locker room trying to get extra tickets for the estimated 25-30 friends and family members that were making the trip to College Station.
This wasn’t just a game for Umanmielen either. Earlier that week Brenton Cox Jr. was dismissed from the team. The Gators’ starting outside linebacker was gone and Umanmielen had to help pick up the slack.
“Losing him it just made me feel like I’ve got to go harder,” he said. “That’s a big-time pass rusher we’re losing on the other side. So, I’ve got to go harder and make up for that a little bit.”
He answered the call, finishing with three total tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. Umanmielen now has 4.0 sacks and 7.0 tackles for a loss this season.
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“I’ve been joking with him all week. I said, ‘Hey, going back to the home state, they slept on you coming out. You know, you’ve got a chance to prove yourself,'” Napier said after the game. “Princely’s another one of those guys with minimal experience to some degree before this year. (He) really is starting to develop nicely as a player. We’ve played him more in the third-down packages here as of late, and he’s been productive.”
Douglas’ second touchdown for the Gators
Opportunity also presented itself for Caleb Douglas. The freshman received more playing time due to an injury that prevented Justin Shorter from playing against Texas A&M.
Douglas set a new career high in catches, his first coming on a 12-yard touchdown. Both of Douglas’ first-two career receptions went for touchdowns, along with his 61-yard TD vs. Eastern Washington. He went on to finish the A&M game with three catches for 25 yards.
“You could see Caleb just this week, he knew he was coming back to the home state this week. He had a good week of practice,” Napier said. “Certainly, Shorter gets injured in the game, he sees that coming. Don’t get me wrong: He didn’t play perfect today. But made some critical plays in critical times. He’s a good young player, has a bright future in front of him.”
