Atlantic High School senior and future Florida Atlantic Owl Chanler Ferguson intercepted rival Boca Raton High quarterback Philip Santiago on Oct. 30, 2015, effectively clinching a district championship for his team.

You can see his interception here.

That interception was one of seven that Ferguson was credited with this season, along with 110 tackles, 11 for a loss and 5.5 sacks. Those numbers earned him his school’s defensive player of the year award, as well as named him part of the Class 8A All-State Second Team.

Owl nation welcome Chanler Ferguson to the family!! #WinToday#LocalLegend pic.twitter.com/odGVhk0Z1e

— FAU Football (@FAU_football) February 3, 2016

Although Ferguson has the stats of a star, it’s his leadership and approach to the game that he’s most proud of.

“I’m aggressive, I’m smart, I feel like I’m a field general,” Ferguson said. “I can put the guys in the right position to make plays.”

“I feel like I’m a leader,” he continued. “But the way I lead, I lead with excitement and bring excitement to the table.”

As well as leading his team to a 13-1 record on top of the district championship, Ferguson went to states in wrestling during his sophomore and junior years of high school. The self-proclaimed field general hopes to carry that winning tradition with him when he comes to FAU next fall.

“I like the program,” Ferguson said. “I like how the program is headed, it’s headed in the right direction.”

That direction is one led by youth and talent. Last year’s team saw four freshmen named to Conference USA’s All-Freshman Team — linebackers Azeez Al-Shaair and Ocie Rose, defensive back Jalen Young and long snapper Casey Winner.

“My goal is to not just do what those guys did, but do it better and learn from them,” Ferguson said.

Our recruiting recap will continue on Monday with John Raine.

Brendan Feeney is the sports editor of the University Press. To contact him regarding this or other stories, he can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.