This season on Friday Night Football on Channel 3, we'll catch up with former Connecticut high school football stars now playing at the next level: college.

Bloomfield's Jason Manson Jason Manson, now a senior at the University of Iowa, was called in as an emergency starter at quarterback last week. He threw four interceptions at Syracuse, but also had a touchdown pass as the 16th-ranked Hawkeyes survived to beat the Orange in double overtime. When he was at Bloomfield, Manson wore No. 16 -- the same number he wears as a collegian. He was twice named All-State and the Bloomfield Warhawks won three state titles during his four years.

New Britain's Justise Hairston Former New Britain High School star running back Justise Hairston had 41 touchdowns combined in his junior and senior years for the Golden Hurricanes. He went on to play at Rutgers University. But after seeing his playing time dwindle, he transferred back home to play at Central Connecticut State University for his senior season. "I try to go back to talk to the high school kids," Hairston said. "Probably the most fun and purest times is high school football; The guys are out there and enjoying it because they want to be out there. A lot of guys come to college for different reasons and play football -- maybe they get to college and they didn't love it as much, but in high school football, it's the purest form of it."

New Britain's Mike McLeod A young man who has it all -- brains and brawn -- former New Britain standout Mike McLeod is now starring as a sophomore at Yale University. McLeod had 39 touchdowns for the Golden Hurricanes in the fall of 2004, including a state record of eight in one game against Manchester. At Yale, McLeod won Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors in 2005, and this season, he's headed for another banner year. He had three touchdowns last week in Yale's win at Cornell.

Bloomfield's Kory Sheets Purdue University running back Kory Sheets and his Boilermakers played in South Bend last week against the University of Notre Dame. Sheets is among the leaders in the nation in scoring -- he has 11 touchdowns to his credit. Before that, Sheets was a member of the Bloomfield Warhawks, where he was state player of the year in 2003. In his high school career, Sheets also had five games with at least 250 yards rushing.

Norwich's Matt Shaugnessy Norwich Free Academy Wildcat Turned Badger In the Fall of 2004, Matt Shaugnessy was a senior standout at Norwich. Now, he's in his second year at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, starring for the Badgers as a defensive end. Wisconsin is off to a 5-1 start, ranked 25th in the latest AP poll. The 6-foot-6-inch No. 92 Shaugnessy is ranked as one of the top 20 defensive ends in the country. He made the preseason watch list for the prestigious Ted Hendricks Award. Shaugnessy also lettered in basketball and track while in high school in Norwich.

A Pair of Nutmeggers on scholarship At Penn State Hyde Leadership's Willie Harriot; Windsor's Chris Baker Two years ago on FNF, Channel 3 followed the recruitment of Hyde Leadership standout Willie Harriott. He was swamped with recruiting offers before finally choosing to play for Joe Paterno at PennState. Harriott was a double threat at cornerback and wide receiver at Hyde. Now, in his second year in Happy Valley, he's yet to play in a game for the Nittany Lions. But as a scout team defensive back, the red-shirt freshman has been impressive and should be a serious contributor in the future. Another Connecticut recruit at PennState is former Windsor High School defensive tackle Chris Naker. He has played for the Nittany Lions in the mix as one of eight defensive linemen. Baker should see more action come next season.

Westport's Jimmy Hughes Jimmy Hughes is a former Staples star who scored a school record of 74 touchdowns. The former Connecticut State Player of the Year is now making a name for himself as a red-shirt sophomore running back at the University of Rhode Island. Last week at UMass, Hughes had a long catch and run against the Minutemen. He had played in Connecticut in the opening week when the Rams visited Rentschler Field to play UConn. Back at staples, Hughes rushed for over 3,600 yards and also had 950 receiving yards. Hughes was on Wrecker state title teams in 2002 and 2003.

Bristol Central's Tim Washington Week 8's Connecticut Collegians recalls one of the greatest high school players in state history. While playing at Bristol Central from 1998-2001, Tim Washington set numerous state records. He went on to play at Syracuse, but after not seeing much playing time for the Orange, he decided to transfer to UMass for his final season. While at Syracuse, Washington carried the highest grade-point average on the team. Last week, Washington scored the only Minuteman touchdown in a rainy win at Northeastern. Back in his days at Bristol Central -- as a quarterback who ran a lot -- Washington scored a state-record 101 touchdowns, including 42 of them in the 2000 season. Washington also holds the state record for career rushing yards with over 7,700.

Bloomfield's Matt Lawrence Former Bloomfield star Matt Lawrence is now a red-shirt junior at UMass-Amherst who plays tailback and some fullback. Of course, right out of high school, he went to UConn and played two seasons for the Huskies before transferring to the rival Minutemen. At Bloomfield, Lawrence was an All State athlete for the Warhawks. In the 2001 state title game, he had an unbelievable first half with 268 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns.

Fitch's George Hall George Hall is now a senior linebacker for the Purdue Boilermakers -- and he comprises a big part of the defense in West Lafayette, Ind. No. 30 Hall missed two games this season, but he has 39 tackles, 1 sack and 1 interception. While at Fitch High School, Hall was a two-time all-state performer, and as a senior, he excelled on offense for the Falcons, rushing for more than 600 yards and 12 touchdowns as a fullback. Currently, Hall and his Boilermaker teammates are 7-4 heading into Saturday's game with state rival Indiana.

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