Zipperer on Pitt commitment: 'It was in my heart'
Daidren Zipperer announced last evening that he has committed to Pitt. Zipperer is a speedy 6’0” wide receiver out of Lakeland, Florida. He held offers from programs like BYU, Kentucky, South Carolina, South Florida, UCF, and Utah.
Zipperer announced his decision, but actually committed to Pitt back on August 7th. He made his decision public last night at a ceremony at his school along with a few of his Lakeland teammates.
“First off, it was the relationship part and a good relationship with me and my mom and my family,” Zipperer told Panther-Lair.com about why he chose Pitt. "It felt like that was the most important part in my decision. It was in my heart too. God won’t lead me the wrong way, so in my heart I knew it was the place for me.”
The official visit was also a big factor in his decision. He got to scope out the city of Pittsburgh, but was really drawn to Pitt’s practice facility. He bumped into Kenny Pickett on his visit and he realized having the Pittsburgh Steelers as a next door neighbor is a benefit.
“When I went on my visit, I feel like facility-wise you can get knowledge from NFL people,” he explained about what separated Pitt from his other top schools. “You’re watching them practice and you’re getting mental reps from NFL and like running into NFL guys all the time.”
He did talk about the relationships as well. Zipperer was recruited by Cory Sanders and Tiquan Underwood. He has forged a strong bond with Underwood during the recruiting process, which started with an offer from Pitt back on May 25th.
“Right when we first talked, it felt like I already knew him,” Zipperer said of his connection with Underwood. “The relationship is really good, we’re talking every day and he keeps in contact with me and it feels great.”
Zipperer is the second player from Lakeland High School to commit to Pitt in the class of 2023. He joins three-star cornerback Shadarian Harrison. Zipperer noted Harrison didn’t know he committed to Pitt until yesterday.
“That was a factor, but it wasn’t a big factor on why I chose Pitt,” on having a teammate already committed to Pitt.
Lakeland is off to a 3-0 start this season. They will look to make it 4-0 tomorrow against Lake Gibson High.
“Our senior season is going good,” he said. “We’ve got a game tomorrow because of the hurricane coming down here.”
Zipperer has been focusing on his team on Friday nights, but has been keeping tabs on Pitt on Saturdays.
“They’ve been doing pretty good,” the future Panther said of Pitt’s 2022 team. :I like it; I’ve been enjoying the games and I’m tuning in every Saturday.”