On Wednesday afternoon Florida picked up its eight commitment in the Class of 2017 when Pasadena (Calif.) Muir Rivals250 cornerback Elijah Blades pulled the trigger for the Gators.

Putting aside the distance between the east and west coasts, Blades instead focused on the fact that he grew up dreaming of suiting up in the Orange & Blue.

“I had been talking to my dad and we wanted to go ahead and seal a spot at a school and Florida had always been my dream school,” explained Blades. “All the coaches show me love and made me feel like part of their family and not just part of the team. I stay in contact with coach [Tim] Skipper almost every day and he talks to my dad a lot too. They were happy to hear they got me because they wanted me in their class.”