Through every challenge, every hardship, every devastating loss, football was there, the refuge that kept former Miami Hurricane Mark Walton steady.
When his father was murdered, when he lost his brother and grandmother, when his daughter was born prematurely and when his mother, Kimberly Rogers, died after a stroke last March, Walton channeled his anger, his energy, his emotions into football.
Whether he was running over defenders, catching passes in the backfield or simply doing the necessary conditioning work to play the game he loved, football brought the running back some measure of peace when his world felt chaotic and uncertain.