Florida added a monster piece to their 2017 class Wednesday when Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas quarterback Jake Allen committed to the Gators. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound called Florida head coach Jim McElwain during the day to pass on the good news.

“I was working the youth football camp with my high school and I was talking to [St. Thomas Aquinas] Coach [Roger] Harriott about it,” Allen explained to 247Sports. “After talking it over with him, it made sense you know. We needed to pull the trigger.

“So we called Coach Mac, had a great conversation with him and he said I made his Fourth of July. It was definitely exciting to hear the excitement in their voices. I’m ready to get the thing going.”

“He wants me to lead the class. He was excited. He’s on vacation in Montana, to be able to get him on the phone, to hear the excitement in his voice was really exciting to hear. They’re excited, I’m excited, so overall, it’s going to be great.”

After a string of college visits this month, it was Allen’s stop by Gainesville that solidified his decision to join the Gators class.

“When I went there – I know everyone says it – but I felt like I was at home,” Allen said. “I felt like I could live there for four or five years. When I went up to Stanford, Notre Dame, when I went up to Michigan and all that, I just didn’t get that vibe. I feel that at Florida. I’m super excited I have the opportunity to be able to play football there.”

The rising junior is still 18 months from his own signing day. So why did he decide to commit this early?

“Quarterbacks are going to be dropping, they’re going to be dropping like flies, and I need to be committed,” Allen stated. “I need to be recruiting, I’m a guy people want to play with, and I need to be sure I get some big-time guys.”

The 247Sports Composite, an industry generated average, currently ranks Allen as the nation’s No. 248 overall prospect and the No. 11 pro-style quarterback in the 2017 class.