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Corey Olaniyan, Tyler Freriks, Dustin Kuhlman, Jake Wasiniak, and Andy Fries all experienced the college football landscape in 2005.

The recent graduating class of 2005 had success on the football field, tying for the best record over the past 27 years, while also earning several individual accolades off the field. Now, that trend has continued, as five players just completed their first full seasons at the college level. Five players is believed to be the most college players from Norwalk High School playing at one time.

Below is a recap on how each player is doing and where they stand in the future of each program.

Dustin Kuhlman, Capital University- Kuhlman was on pace for one of the best seasons by a Norwalk running back in nearly 10 years before a dislocated shoulder ended his season in week six. Many counted him out, but he worked back into shape and has landed onto one of the top up-and-coming programs in Division III, as the Crusaders (10-2) will play league foe and powerful Mount Union (11-1) in the third round of the playoffs this week.

"This year was a little more than I expected and then some," Kuhlman said. "I didn't realize the time and dedication it took to play college football, even at the Division Three level. When the season and school first began, it took up most of my time...with meetings and watching films all the time and the obvious practices...I've learned that if you really want to succeed, you have to really put in all of that time. I also realized how different the game is. It's faster, the players are stronger, and most of the people you play against are at least decent and were all-league at the least where they came from in high school. As of where I stand, I can't really say now...but during the season I was rotating with a number of running backs on the JV level, and didn't see any time on varsity. Next year will all depend on what I do this off season."

Jake Wasiniak, Erie Community College- Wasniak was a late decision to play at the Junior College in a major city (Buffalo, NY). An all-league and district selection on defense at Norwalk, Wasiniak is playing on the offensive line for Erie, which lost in the Northern Football Conference championship game to Nassau Community College by a 42-31 score to finish the season 5-6 overall.

"This year went ok," he said. "We started off with five wins after six games, but lost our last five games, which was tough.  I didn't play at all in the first three games, but started from the fourth game until the end of the season at left guard. I learned a lot of new blocking techniques here, and also got a good look at the intensity of college football compared to high school football."

Tyler Freriks, Denison University- Freriks overcame a freak hand injury during summer practice to play the last four games of the season at tight end and still earn league and district honors as a senior at Norwalk. He was also the first of the five to commit to play football, deciding way back in January. The Big Red finished 5-5 this past season.

"I didn't see the field until the third game where I played the fourth quarter," he said. "Having an All-American in front of me was kind of tough. But he taught me a lot as well, so I was lucky to get a chance to play with him. I got in on kick return for the last three games. That was fun because I finally got to hit some people. It was really hard not playing though. I learned that you have to hold every play if you want to block anybody at the college level as crazy as that sounds. It was hard to get used to that because in high school you could just overpower people and in college everyone is strong. I will have to work a lot harder over the off season to get stronger, and I am looking forward to getting a shot at a starting position next year."

Andy Fries, Otterbein College - Fries was a late-bloomer in high school but made the most of it, earning all-league honors as a senior and working his way onto the college football scene for the Cardinals, who experienced a revival in football this past season, as they had their third winning record in a quarter century in going 7-3 for the season.

"My first year here was great," Fries said. "We finished with our third winning season in twenty-five years and just second since 1999. I played thirteen varsity snaps and by week eight I was the next tackle to go in if anything happened to the starters. I played at both right and left offensive tackle this year. I learned that there is quite a difference in high school and college football. The intensity is unbelievable. I plan on playing the same spot next year and hopefully starting off the season second on the depth chart."

Corey Olaniyan, University of Findlay- Not that it was a surprise, but the biggest impact made was by Olaniyan, an All-Ohio player at Norwalk and the school's all-time leading receiver. However, his defense is what landed him at Findlay, and just a few games into the season, the true freshman was starting and finished with 43 tackles, (28 solos and 15 assisted) along with a tackle for loss of -5 yards. In eight games, he averaged 5.4 tackles per game from the Strong Safety position, but the Oilers stumbled to a 3-8 record this past season.

"I learned to be more patient and more disciplined first and foremost," Olaniyan said. "I had to be patient because I wanted everything to come to me at once and I would get frustrated. It took time to learn the coverage's and to realize how fast everyone is. I had to learn how to slow the game down by using technique. I had to be disciplined with my reads and doing what the coaches coached me to do. I started off the year just playing special teams on punt and kick return. Towards the end of the year I got moved to safety and started the last five games. Overall, it was a good experience to get on the field my freshman year. The season didn't go as planned but I guess you could say we were a young team that hit a wall."