Ole Miss Sues Two Transfers Who Followed Lane Kiffin to LSU
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Ole Miss is suing two of its former players for breach of contract over unpaid buyouts. This is not the first such instance in the revenue-sharing era — and likely won't be the last — but it stands out because of the players involved.
The Rebels filed suit against edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen and offensive lineman Devin Harper, both of whom transferred to LSU to play for coach Lane Kiffin.
This is the latest flareup in the ongoing saga between these two SEC programs, which have been trading barbs since Kiffin left Ole Miss in November to coach the rival Tigers. Kiffin did not allow some of his assistant coaches to continue working with the Rebels for their College Football Playoff run. Then Kiffin came under fire for his comments in a Vanity Fair profile about the diversity of Oxford, Mississippi, compared to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. And now, Ole Miss is striking back in the court room.
Umanmielen, an All-SEC player who recorded nine sacks last season, and Harper, a four-star recruit who appeared in six games as a true freshman, were hardly the only players to transfer between the two programs this offseason. Linebacker TJ Dottery and wide receiver Winston Watkins also left Ole Miss for LSU. Pete Golding, who was promoted from defensive coordinator to Rebels head coach after Kiffin's exit, also pried some players away from the Tigers, including offensive lineman Carius Curne and running back JT Lindsey.
None of those other transfers drew the same level of scrutiny, though, because Umanmielen and Harper missed the deadline to pay the buyouts from their revenue-sharing agreements with Ole Miss. ESPN reported the Rebels are seeking $550,000 from Umanmielen and $400,000 from Harper.
“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," Ole Miss said in a statement. "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.”
The Rebels shared timelines that have both players signing revenue-sharing agreements in early January. However, they entered the transfer portal later that month. Ole Miss said it contacted both Umanmielen and Harper in January seeking payment and received no response. The Rebels later requested payment from LSU on both players' behalf, which the Tigers denied on the ground that they were not party to the contract.
Ole Miss announces it’s filed suit for breach of contract against former players and current LSU players Devin Harper and Princewill Umanmielen. Included are these timelines. pic.twitter.com/fxNwilBk8L
— Chase Parham (@ChaseParham) July 28, 2026
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney accused Ole Miss of tampering earlier this offseason to land linebacker Luke Ferrelli. The NCAA is reportedly investigating the matter.
Golding was asked about those accusations at SEC media days last week and if he had a solution to fix tampering.
"By design it's put a lot of people in bad positions," Golding said of the current setup of the transfer portal. "Let's not act like recruiting in college football for the last 100 years is the most moral thing. What are we talking about here?"
Golding also opened up on his relationship with Kiffin and put to bed the idea that there was any bad blood between him and his former boss.
"I have no ill will towards coach Kiffin," Golding said. "He texts me on a regular basis and there are certain things we'll talk about and certain things we don't talk about. He's very competitive just like I'm very competitive. So obviously a lot of this went a different direction. Now he has a new job with new responsibilities and he's going to be super competitive to be the best he can at that job, which is his job.
"So I can separate the two. Some people can't. I tell a lot of these people — I probably shouldn't say this, but I don't care, all right? Like I told an Ole Miss group the other day, 'Alright, in 2021 if you said you could look in 2025 and you're about to be 11-1 and go to the playoff, would you take it if your coach was leaving?' Hell yeah. You would. Everybody won from it. It's okay."
Kiffin was reflective at media days when asked about the move all these months later.
"I made a challenging decision in change," he said. "I think as I look back to that, I thought I could find a way for everybody to understand. Now as I look back later on, that was never going to happen."
Between Golding and Kiffin's comments, it looked like the tension between the two schools had cooled a bit. Evidently, that is not the case.
The 2026 college football season kicks off exactly one month from now. Arguably the most anticipated game on the schedule is Sept. 19 when Ole Miss hosts LSU at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for the SEC opener.
Rebels players mostly tried to downplay anticipation for Kiffin's return.
"LSU, that's just another opposition that's in our way of our main goal, just like any other SEC team we play," Ole Miss defensive lineman Will Echoles said. "We're not trying to make the game too big."
But with nine months of animosity built up off the field — and now in the courtroom — it's hard to see it being treated like any other game.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jul 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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