The nation’s No. 1 quarterback according to 247Sports is committed to Tennessee.

Brownsburg (Ind.) High 2017 prospect Hunter Johnson gave his verbal to Vols head coach Butch Jones and his staff on Sunday, choosing the SEC program over his other finalists, Notre Dame and N.C. State.

Tennessee was first to offer the 6-foot-3, 197-pound Johnson back in July of 2014, and five more visits to the campus later, a trip this past July basically sealed the deal.

“I’ve been in contact with Tennessee for so long now and I know so much about Tennessee, I didn’t see a reason why I wouldn’t commit,” Johnson said. “That’s what I told my parents, why wouldn’t I go here? I’ve always felt really, really comfortable with Tennessee.”

Ranked by 247Sports as the No. 11 prospect in America, Johnson felt comfortable with a few schools, but the consistency of Tennessee from start to finish has the Hoosier State blue-chipper planning his future as a Vol.

“The last time we were there on campus, I was able to really spend the whole day with Coach Jones and Coach (Mike) DeBord and Coach (Nick) Sheridan too,” Johnson said. “We just sat and talked and talked football and got to know each other a little bit better during the day. When we left I think me and my family thought it fit me well

“I really believe in Coach DeBord and Coach Jones. It’s very exciting.”

Johnson is the first commit for Tennessee in the class-of-2017.

“I think the distance has always been a perfect distance for me, not too far but close enough to home,” Johnson said. “Playing in the SEC, Coach Jones, Coach Debord and Coach Sheridan, the whole coaching staff, it’s a really great coaching staff. Tennessee is really on the rise right now. I feel like Tennessee is an opportunity I can’t really pass up.”

Besides the schools mentioned, other offers for Johnson included Florida, Kentucky, Miami, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Penn State and Vanderbilt.

“He’s a competitor,” Johnson’s personal quarterbacks coach Levar Johnson said. “He wants to be great. He puts in the time, effort and work. He knows he has things to work on. He tries to work on those things and get better. By no means is he self-satisfied. He always wants to get better and he’s not afraid of competition.”

Johnson is everything the Vols staff is looking for at the quarterback position. When Jones offered, he told Johnson he was their guy and didn’t pursue another signal-caller.

“I think it’s a good fit because people underestimate his athleticism and I think this season you’ll get to see a lot more of that,” Levar Johnson said. “He fits into a lot of different sets of offenses. He gets pigeon-holed as a pocket passer, but he’s athletic. His hands are huge. He can make all the throws. He can extend plays with his legs. When a kid runs track for the first time and he’s on a 4x400 team that runs a 3:17 you have to be pretty athletic.”

Still just the tip of the iceberg with Johnson, who is also a high honor-roll student.

“I don’t think he’s done growing,” Levar Johnson said. “Once he gets in the weight room full time he’ll continue to put on that muscle mass. He’s an intellectual kid. Through this process he’s been a thinker. He doesn’t fly off the cuff and he thinks things out and thinks things through. I’ve really been impressed with the way he’s handled this whole situation. He always thinks about his teammates, always puts his teammates first. Physically he’s just a good athlete.”

A U.S. Army All-American, Johnson plans to enroll early at Tennessee. The Vols offering first isn’t why Johnson will play for Tennessee, but he does find it cool that his recruitment will have started and finished with UT. He looks forward to competing for championships in Knoxville.

“I’m really excited about it,” Johnson said. “I’ve always known they really want me there and it’s always been a school I’ve been really interested in.”