Miami Norland linebacker Jeremiah Marcelin has visited UCF three times in the past two months, the most recent trip being this past Saturday to take in the Knights' spring practice.

He's a high-priority target for Gus Malzahn, linebackers coach Ernie Sims and the defensive staff.

"It's been great to keep building this relationship with the coaches," Marcelin said. "I mainly talk to Coach Sims, Coach Gus, Coach Addison, Coach Ingram, really the whole staff. It's going really well."

Marcelin really valued this past visit to see how the coaching staff operates on the field.

"As a player, you want to see how a coach coaches up their players," Marcelin said. "Coach Sims is a very expressive guy. He's got a lot of energy. He's in his cleats running around. He does more showing than telling. Those are things you look for in a coach."

It's been 10 years since Sims last played in the NFL, but Marcelin said it didn't seem like it.

"While he was running around I'm like this guy has still got it," Marcelin said. "It's always great to see a coach so heavily involved with this position group."