Lakeland (Fla.) wide receiver Daidren Zipperer said he can definitely see a future for himself at UCF after spending last weekend in Orlando on his official visit.

"It was love," Zipperer said. "Coaches showed love. Everybody. It felt at home. I felt the love walking in. It's the little stuff, like opening the doors for me. It started from there.

"I'm talking to Coach (Gus) Malzahn, he's telling me how it is here. I love how the players are... I was hanging out with Amari Johnson. I talked to Kobe Hudson, who came from Auburn. They showed me a lot of love."

Zipperer has been on UCF's radar for over a year. He was among a group of Lakeland players to visit last summer and the staff kept an eye on him all season. He said he's been building a relationship with wide receivers coach Grant Heard, who joined UCF's staff earlier this year.

"(Heard) contacted me in March before I even got offered by UCF," Zipperer said. "He said he loves me and wants to get me up here. Coach (Chip) Lindsey came to my practice one day. I guess he came back and told him how I was in practice. The next day (Heard) called my phone. I got out of 7th period 10 minutes early so I could call him. We're talking on the phone and he was like, 'We're gonna offer you a scholarship.' I was excited. That was my first big, big offer. I was really excited about it."

Zipperer now has more than 20 offers with the vast majority of those arriving this spring.

"I did pretty good this spring," Zipperer said. "In the spring game, I had four receptions for 150 yards and two touchdowns. This is the first year that coaches can come see me practice in person, so that was really big for me. In practice I finish every catch. I practice hard every play. They loved that and what I showed on film."

A big part of the UCF visit was learning about academics and possible majors.

"I want to study sports medicine," Zipperer said. "They took us to the academic center, showed us around. I'm big on academics. It starts there. They showed me where I'd be. The academic people showed the love too. They stay on you with grades. That's big for me."

Why sports medicine?

"That interests me because I want to stay in the sports field," Zipperer said. "I love football. I do this because I love it. It's not because of money. I love football. I'd do anything to get paid for it. I want to stay around the game as long as I possibly can, Lord willing."