There is a small nail that sticks slightly out of a closet in a Clayton Hall dorm room. The resident doesn’t complain about it or ask that it be fixed. Instead, he simply hangs his Rosary beads on it. They sit above his desk, blessed by his bishop and there if he ever needs to say a prayer.

Mark Horton, a 20-year-old sophomore here at Ashland University, is from Cleveland and is proud of where he comes from and what he is made of.

“Yes, I’m involved in it,” Horton said, when asked about his Irish heritage. “I participate in the Irish festival in Cleveland every year and in Houlu.”

Houlu is an Irish celebration in Horton’s neighborhood where there is Irish dancing, food and drinks. There is also an Irish culture center for Irish-Americans.

Going back to Horton’s roots doesn’t just mean valuing his heritage and culture, but also his hometown and the people he grew up with.

Horton said he has always had a good relationship with his parents. His brother, Kyle, is six years older than him and went to Eastern Michigan University for a criminal justice degree, the same thing Horton is going for here at AU. Kyle is an athletic trainer and recently went pro, fighting Mixed Martial Arts. Horton also has a younger sister, Ashley, who he says always ratted on him when they were younger. Horton was born at Fairview Hospital and was raised in West Park. A tattoo on his inner right arm displays the name of his neighborhood and shows the pride he has in his hometown.

“It’s a big part of my childhood,” Horton said. “West Park means everything to me; that’s my home and where all my friends are from.”

Unlike most children, Horton has had the same four best friends growing up.

“We all played on the same grade school football team,” Horton said, smiling. “My dad was the coach. We won the city championship.”

Horton fondly remembered how all of them played both ways and how one of his best friends scored the winning touchdown.

Now they have all grown up and are just trying to make it through life. One of them bartends, one of them struggles with an addiction to pills and the other is a union welder who works on bridges; Horton is, of course, here in Ashland working on his criminal justice degree and playing on the football team. Sadly, his fourth childhood friend took his own life last year.

“His parents got divorced and he had drug problems,” Horton said. “He had a problem with a girl that night…I was sad, I didn’t know all those problems were happening.”

Horton remembered he had received the news a week before Halloween, Oct. 23. It was in the middle of the football season.

“I went to Coach O [Lee Owens, head football coach] right away and he told me to take a week off,” Horton said. “He talked to my teachers and really took care of everything.”

Horton said his loss didn’t affect his playing and that he just figured out how to handle it. He still goes home to West Park at least once a month to see his remaining best friends and continues to strengthen the bond that they’ve shared since their youngster days.

Winning a football city championship in seventh grade isn’t where Horton’s talent and drive stopped. In fact, it seems like Horton was destined to be a winner. He went to St. Edwards High School and wrestled varsity all four years in the heavyweight division, wrestling on four state championship teams and one national championship team. He also played on the football team, earning three varsity letters and starting two years in a row. His senior year, he drew interest from AU and was recruited.

“He sticks with it,” Coach Lee Owens said. “He is one of those guys – there are guys who are bigger and stronger, but no one works harder than Mark.”

It didn’t take long for Horton to commit.

“I came in on a Tuesday and they offered me a scholarship Wednesday night,” Horton said.

Assistant Head Coach Doug Geiser said that he has always thought of Horton as a stand out player.

“What stands out most is he [Horton] is passionate about the game,” Geiser said of Horton. “He has a love for the sport and exudes in all his play. His heart and drive puts him in the position he is in and that’s the biggest compliment I can give.”

Horton got some time in during varsity games as an underclassman the past two years, playing in most of the home games. Going into his junior year, Horton hopes to become a starter and is trying hard to accomplish that goal.

“I’ve been snapping and lifting weights,” Horton said. “I go and run when I don’t have to.”

His hard work has not gone unnoticed.

“He is always going the extra mile,” Owens said. “He was here all summer and he didn’t have to do that. He does all the extra work outs.”

 Geiser is hoping that Horton is ready and willing to step up.

“I graduated three starters this year,” Geiser said. “Mark can play center and guard and I lost both. I anticipate getting him into spring football and he can start to make his presence felt.”

When asked about wanting to be a captain or a specific leader on the team, Horton said he hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. He’s focusing on the here and now, but his coach thinks he is turning into a leader already.

“He will be a junior now – his role is changing and it’s time to be a leader,” Geiser said. “I’m happy with the way he has stepped up. Being a leader, mentoring the young guys in the weight room and it’s been neat to see, with his growth and confidence. All these guys are like my sons.”

Horton hopes to not only excel at football but also in his career field.

“I want to do undercover work, ATF [Alcohol Tobacco Firearms] and such,” Horton said. “My minor is business management – it’s going to help me work on white collar crimes if I become a cop.”

For now, Horton is just going to enjoy being in college. He isn’t the perfect student; in fact, he just recently received his first rule infraction on campus. Horton appealed his case, but lost. In the end, he is upset about the fine he has to pay, but won’t take it to heart.

“Stuff happens when you party naked,” Horton grinned. “But in all seriousness, it’s an experience I can live with.”

Horton’s AU friends love this side of him – perhaps not the “party naked” side, but the relaxed and fun side.

One of their favorite stories of Horton involves one day while they were in Convo. Several of them enjoy the TV show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” and in one of the episodes, a character grabs a salt shaker and shakes salt onto a woman, yelling “Salt the snail! Salt the snail!” Horton took it upon himself to “salt” people in Convo as they came over to him, leaving everyone laughing.

Another time, Horton and his friends decided to take air horns out to a golf course in his hometown, and every time someone would swing, they would blow them.

“Some guy chased us into the woods with his golf club,” Horton said with a laugh. “We got the idea because we had watched ‘Jackass.’ We went the Sunday after it opened in theaters.”

Horton clearly knows how to have fun, perhaps too much fun, but he also knows why he is at AU and what he wants to do with himself. So look for the kid with the red mohawk walking around campus: there’s the kind of kid that has a lot going for him but just takes everything in stride.