Ask coach Ezzard Horn, and he’ll tell you that Nasan Houston is the latest sign that Cross Creek football is on its way up.
Houston is a 6-foot-2, 230-pound rising senior who did a little bit of everything for the Razorbacks during the 2023 football season. And now, he’s done received something no other Cross Creek football player has laid claim to in four years — a Division I football scholarship offer.
Houston took to X Saturday to declare his scholarship offer from Charleston Southern of the Big South Conference following a visit from Buccaneers head coach Gabe Giardina.
Houston had a breakout junior campaign as he posted 41 total tackles, 16.5 quarterback sacks, seven tackles for loss and four forced fumbles. He did most of his work for Cross Creek from the defensive end and linebacker position, but also lined up at tight end occasionally for the 4-5 Razorbacks.
He also became the first Cross Creek player to garner a Division I scholarship offer since Class of 2020 standout defensive lineman Markell Ware went to play for Southeast Missouri State. Ware also played on Cross Creek’s first basketball team to play for a state championship under head coach Lawrence Kelly.
The fact that Houston still has another full offseason and senior season left to turn heads excites Horn. It also makes him believe his players are truly buying into the work-ethic based culture Horn is trying to build at Cross Creek.
“I think Nasan and his teammates’ hard work over these last two seasons are now really starting to show,” Horn said. “And they’re realizing that they can’t take time off in the classroom or on the field.”
Houston helped Cross Creek turn the corner a bit in Horn’s second season as head coach. The Razorbacks won more than two games in a single season for the first time since 2018, and narrowly missed their first playoff berth since the 2016 season when coach Robert McCarty’s 6-5 team showed up to the postseason.
With most of the team’s top playmakers from 2023 returning, including Houston, Cross Creek could stand a good chance of ending that postseason drought when the 2024 campaign rolls around in August.
