Edward Collins excited about UCF commitment

UCF got faster - and a lot bigger - on Friday.

Edward Collins, a 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive tackle from Birmingham (Ala.) Ramsay, committed to the Knights during an unofficial visit to become the Knights' seventh pledge in the Class of 2018.

Collins picked up his first offer from UCF in early April, his first visit being a few weeks later for the spring game.

"After the spring game I was thinking about committing because I liked the campus a lot," Collins said. "A few more coaches then came to my school during spring practice and talked to my head coach. My head coach helped me with the decision a lot. He thought it was a good fit too. I talked to my parents too and they supported me."

With commitment on his mind, Collins and his parents returned to Orlando on Friday.

"I think I surprised the coaches," Collins said. "The first thing we did is take a tour around the campus. Then after the tour, we went into Coach (Scott) Frost's office and talked to him for about 10 minutes. He asked me when I was going to make a decision. I told him I was going to make one today. I was going to commit to UCF.

"They were really excited. We shook hands on it. Then we went outside and told the rest of the coaches. They were all congratulating me."

Collins said he liked everything about UCF, but the deciding factor was his relationship with offensive line coach Greg Austin.

"I like the coaches a lot, especially Coach Austin," Collins said. "I feel like he's a real genuine man. We wouldn't always talk about football, sometimes we just talked about life. I really liked that."

With his size, UCF sees him as a tackle all the way.

"They said they liked my size and athleticism," Collins said. "They say that my ceiling is high."

What did he like most about today's visit?

"I would have to say my conversation with the strength and conditioning coach (Zach Duval)," Collins said. "He was pretty nice and had a really nice presentation for me. I really liked his program."

He also was able to talk to a couple players in passing.

"I'm really excited," Collins said. "I knew I didn't want to wait to commit, like waiting until February. I wanted to get it out of the way. I know I made the right decision."

Collins, who was also offered by Toledo and Southern Miss, says his future career goal is to become a pharmacist so a biology or chemistry major could be in the cards. He also has big plans for his future football career.

"I want to win some championships," he said. "I'd like to be an All-American."