Pinellas Park's Kal-El Williams committed to Florida Atlantic after taking an unofficial visit to the school on Friday.
Williams also had offers from Florida International and Western Kentucky. He was recruited by the Owls to play fullback.
"I wanted to go to FAU because I'm going to be the first fullback on the roster there," Williams said. "I felt the love there and coach (Charlie) Partridge has a plan to make me a better man and athlete."
Last season, Williams rushed for 776 yards and seven touchdowns and had 140 tackles on defense to help lead the Patriots to the Class 7A region semifinals.