The recruiting talents of new head coach Charlie Partridge are already paying dividends for FAU football in the form of a young man named Jordan Scarlett.

Scarlett, a four star recruit, verbally committed to FAU on Friday according to the Sun-Sentinel.  The class-of-2015 running back is ranked third (at his position) in his high school class according to ESPN.

If the commitment holds true, Scarlett can follow his former high school head coach to Boca Raton. He attends the University School of Nova Southeastern, a high school football powerhouse in South Florida. Roger Harriot — Scarlett’s former head football coach — was hired by Partridge as the FAU running backs coach this month.

“[The verbal commitment] kinda just came about when [Harriot] officially got the job offer to FAU and we were just sitting back talking about old times,” Scarlett told the Orlando Sentinel. “I made my decision that I wanted to continue with him being my head coach and my role model.”

Partridge was recently selected as head coach after former head coach Carl Pelini resigned amid drug use allegations. He rescinded his resignation, but was fired for failure to supervise his staff.

Scarlett was recruited by Partridge while Partridge was at both Wisconsin and Arkansas, and the verbal commitment is an encouraging sign. The work for the Owls to secure the talented running back is far from finished, however.

Scarlett is one of  the best players in the region regardless of position, and if signed, would be the most highly touted recruit in FAU football history.

Because he is just a junior in high school, Scarlett cannot officially pledge his talents to a school until February of 2015. Unsurprisingly, he is still being recruited by big time schools — Alabama, Florida, Georgia and LSU to name a few.

At any point before February 2015, Scarlett can change his commitment and select another school to attend. If the Owls can snatch this recruit from the national powerhouses, not only will it add talent to the program, but it will also create some momentum and publicity for FAU football and its recruiting efforts, which could mean more talented recruits on campus sooner rather than later.

Wesley Wright is the Sports Editor for the University Press. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @NotEvenWes.