| Editor's note: Throughout the season, Pro Football Weekly will run a
continuing series of articles spotlighting top prospects for the 2002 draft. 
Northwestern LB Napoleon Harris traces his competitiveness to the first grade. He came
back from school one day and his mom asked him a question.
"Who’s the smartest kid in your class?"
He didn’t expect the response his mom gave him when he told her the name of one of
his classmates. His mother punched him in the arm, or at least that’s how he
remembers it.
She scolded her young son, "No one is smarter than you! You’re the smartest
in your class! Don’t ever say that again!"
Since that day, Napoleon wanted to be the best in everything he did, or at least he
didn’t want to anger his demanding mother.
Fast forward 18 years to an October, 2000 college football game in which Northwestern
trailed Minnesota 35-28 late in the fourth quarter. On its own 13-yard line, Minnesota
threw a slant pass to WR Jack Brewer, who diced through the Northwestern secondary and
sprinted toward the endzone.
Harris, who was aligned on the opposite side of the field, recognized the
quarterback’s three-step drop, swiveled his hips open toward the ball and darted in
pursuit of Brewer, who was already 10 yards ahead of Harris and flying past Harris’
teammates.
With each stride, Harris grew closer to Brewer before grabbing him from behind at the
Northwestern 15-yard line and dragging him to the ground. The play stands as a benchmark
of Harris’ tremendous closing speed, but it meant a lot more to Northwestern coach
Randy Walker.
"It saved the game," Walker said. "They hit a slant that just came out
of the gate. I’m on the sideline and it was just gone. It was seven. And it was at a
point in the game where coming back from two scores would have been very, very difficult.
It was a point in the game where you didn’t want to be down 14. Out of nowhere,
running by everybody on both teams, Napoleon runs this guy down and catches him from
behind."
The Northwestern defense registered a tackle-for-loss and stopped Minnesota on the next
three plays, forcing a field-goal attempt. Minnesota missed it, and the Wildcats came back
to win the game on a Hail Mary pass as time expired. Walker credits Harris for keeping
Northwestern in the game.
"It was just a great-effort play. It would have been easy for him on the backside
to kind of look over and go, ‘Well, that one is in the books,’ but that is
typical of Napoleon – I mean he just went – phewwww – 100 miles an hour and
ran the thing down. We talk all the time to our defense about making them snap it one more
time. That is a perfect example. It won us a football game."
It may have won the game, but Harris said it was just part of his routine.
"I always think I can make every play," Harris said. "That’s just
my attitude. I realize it was a big play, but I play like that on each and every snap.
You’ll see me hustling to the ball no matter what side of the field I am on. I think
there’s just something inside of me that wants to be number one, that wants to
succeed and do the best I can possibly do on any given play. A lot of people look at that
play and say it’s extraordinary. Well, that’s just a routine thing for me."
Harris’ childhood routine included competing against some of the country’s
most elite talent. At Thornton High School in Chicago’s south suburbs, Harris teamed
with Indiana QB Antwaan Randle El and Fresno State basketball C Melvin Ely. Harris also
regularly practiced against San Francisco 49ers WR Tai Streets, as much on the hardwood
floor as on the gridiron.
Harris, 21, starred in basketball and football at Thornton and continued playing both
sports when he arrived at Northwestern. He played basketball for two years before coach
Gary Barnett departed for Colorado and Walker took control of the program.
Harris wanted to make an impression on his new coach and decided to give up basketball
and concentrate on football. While he grew up wanting to be a basketball player and still
believes he could play in the NBA had he dedicated himself to basketball, Harris’
decision has greatly improved his stock as an NFL prospect.
Northwestern strength coach Larry Lilja says Harris has added 20 pounds of body weight
and increased his bench press from 315 to 425. A full-time commitment to football has
allowed Harris to record a 36-inch vertical leap, 350-pound power clean, 600-pound squat
and a 4.56 time in the 40.
"His lower-body strength improved dramatically along with his power clean,"
Lilja said. "Just because he could focus on one sport, every aspect improved –
his flexibility, his change of direction, his strength, his power, his quickness. He just
became a better student of the game because his interests weren’t divided. He was
totally focused on football. So I think that’s the best thing he could have
done."
According to one NFL source, the best move Harris made was to play defensive end this
season, so NFL scouts can evaluate how he performs from a three-point stance.
"He has probably solidified himself as a first-round pick after he was asked to
move to defensive end. If there was one knock on him after last season, it was his pass
rush. He is learning to counter moves and is really becoming a complete player. He can
run. He gives great effort. He chases hard. Everyone knows he can be a great linebacker,
but now he has shown that he can be an intimidating pass rusher."
Through six games, Harris has recorded three sacks, 50 tackles and 18 quarterback
hurries, one of which knocked Penn State QB Matt Senneca out of the game on Penn
State’s final drive during their Big Ten battle Oct. 20.
Northwestern defensive coordinator Jerry Brown says he has tried to keep the defense
simple for Harris at the DE position, teaching him two moves and allowing him to create
big plays with his athleticism.
"We give him a good outside move – a speed rush around the edge and then
complement the speed rush with coming underneath. In a pass rush situation, we give Napo
the latitude to go either outside or inside – his choice."
Brown works with Harris after practice during the week on his technique. What Brown
tries to teach Harris is to use his opponents’ momentum to his advantage.
"As the game begins or actually prior to the game, we try to look at the offensive
tackle that Napoleon is going against and try to get an idea how fast he is," Brown
said. "Can we beat the tackle around the edge or should we try to smoke him up the
edge, get him going and then come underneath him. If you get his momentum going hard
upfield, then you want to take him and throw him by and go underneath. If he’s not
getting out there real fast, then you just speed rush his butt right around the edge. I
don’t think many tackles can handle Napo."
While Harris has demonstrated the ability to play linebacker and defensive end, Brown
says Harris will be best suited to play linebacker at the next level because of his size.
"I’m not sure how much bigger he can get," Brown said. "I would
think he would play outside linebacker in the NFL. I think he may be better suited in a
3-4 type of scheme where you could bring him off the edge and also use him in pass
coverage."
Lilja likens Harris to one of his former Thornton and Northwestern teammates –
current Philadelphia Eagles LB Barry Gardner. Lilja said they are both "strong,
powerful, very athletic and have great attitudes," but he said Harris is faster than
Gardner was.
Lilja has noticed another quality in Harris during offseason conditioning that sets him
apart from all players he has coached.
"As far as conditioning, I’ve never seen a kid who has better endurance. He
can run and run and run and never gets tired. He’s really a gifted athlete that way.
He’s extremely tough mentally – he will not give in to fatigue at all."
He’s so tough mentally that he broke his hand in the first half of last
year’s Michigan game, but didn’t tell the trainers because he didn’t want
to come out. After the Wildcats beat the Wolverines 54 -51, Harris played the next two
games with his hand in a cast.
Like his mother, he demands the most from his teammates. When temperatures rose during
offseason workouts, Lilja noticed some players complaining. When Harris heard their
gripes, he responded as quickly as his mother did when he told her he wasn’t the
smartest kid in his class.
"Quit whining about the heat," Harris said. "It’s going to be hot
in Las Vegas (site of Northwestern’s season opener), and you better get used to
it."
Lilja said his teammates take notice when he speaks.
"Napoleon is the kind of guy who can say things like that and guys will
listen," Lilja said. "They understand that he means what he says and that’s
the last time they were bitching about the heat."
Northwestern defensive backs coach, Pat Fitzgerald, who captained two Big Ten
championship Northwestern teams in 1995 and ‘96, has been impressed with Harris’
leadership.
"What he is, is just a consummate leader," Fitzgerald said. "It’s
all the time. It’s not a sometimes thing. He takes our defense where it can’t
take itself. He challenges everybody. He’s going to make everybody play up to his
level. And it’s not that he’s going to be afraid to call anybody out, but he
does it very constructively."
Fitzgerald, who moved to a career in coaching after he was signed by the Dallas Cowboys
in 1997 and released after training camp, says scouts will quickly notice Harris when they
look at film.
"He plays at a speed faster than anybody else," Fitzgerald said. "When
you pop on the film, it’s obvious who’s playing the fastest on the field –
it’s No. 8 in a black or white jersey. He’s the full package. He’s what you
want. You couldn’t ask for anything better. I know that’s a heck of a
compliment, but I don’t lie. That’s the truth."
As the season winds down, scouts are filing through the athletic facility at
Northwestern to evaluate number eight. After a recent evaluation, one scout said, "I
think he needs to develop his football smarts because he’s a former basketball guy,
but I think he’s going to be a hell of a linebacker. He’s a guy who can turn out
to be better than what you draft him as. He’s one of those guys who has the ability
to get a lot better versus some players that are probably what you see, other than putting
on a little bit more weight or getting a little bit stronger."
Other scouts see Harris’ versatility as both his strength and weakness, saying he
has the ability to play a number of positions but has not been able to hone his skills as
much as some teams would like at one position. If he is used as an outside linebacker,
like many NFL teams are projecting him to be, it may take him longer to develop into an
NFL linebacker than other prospects.
Nonetheless, Northwestern LB Kevin Bentley thinks Harris will have no trouble adjusting
to the NFL with his competitive nature. Bentley and Harris compete every week to see who
can make more tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
"He hates to lose," Bentley said. "We battle all the time, on the field,
in video games, whatever it is, in the weight room. Me and him are always competing. He
loses a lot, but he won’t stop fighting. Right now, we’re in a tight race for
the TFL record. And each week, he’ll come in and he’ll be like, ‘we’re
even’ or ‘I got you by one now.’ He won’t tell you he’s competing
that hard, but everything is a competition. It’s kind of like he wants you to relax
so he can come in next week and say, ‘I got you.’"
While Harris may not let Bentley know when he is competing, Walker knows Harris will
compete his way into a starting lineup in the NFL.
"He has really improved and continues to get better, but more than anything else,
he just has the right kind of attitude," Walker said. "He has his values in the
right place and he’s going to be a guy that you don’t have to worry about doing
the right things, embracing the right things as a football player and a person. With those
guys, you can’t miss. When you get to the character issue and the intangibles,
he’s as good as it gets and that’s why he is going to be very successful."
According to Brown, Harris will never lose sight of where he developed his values.
"He is really, really close with his mom," Brown said. "She is a real
special woman in his life and he makes no qualms about telling anybody that she is very
special for him in his life."
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