The job market might be tight, but a few Northwestern students are in line for job offers this weekend.

The 2002 National Football League Draft has the potential to be replete with NU players – as many as nine have a shot to be taken in the seven-round draft, held Saturday and Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

Napoleon Harris is a virtual lock for the first round – the linebacker has been predicted to go as high as No. 12 to the Arizona Cardinals – and could be NU’s highest pick in nearly 20 years.

The Cats’ last first-round selection was Chris Hinton, who went fourth in 1983. Six NU players have been taken in the first round, beginning with Otto Graham in the 1944 draft.

“You don’t know who’s going to draft you,” Harris said. “You just have to sit back and hope that things play in your favor and you go as high as you can to a pretty good team where (you) can come in and contribute.”

Harris played out of position in the 2001 season at right defensive end. He previously started at outside linebacker for two seasons.

Harris’ senior season was less than stellar, but his draft prospects have soared because of his athleticism. He will likely be the first linebacker chosen.

NU head coach Randy Walker, under whom Harris played his final three seasons, expressed excitement at the possibility of the 6-foot-2 linebacker going in the first round.

“I think the combination of size and speed and athleticism that he has (make teams want to draft him),” Walker said. “I also think people like his attitude. He’s made a real positive impression on people that have been involved in evaluating this thing.”

Harris could be joined by a number of his teammates, including linebacker Kevin Bentley, running back Damien Anderson, wide receiver Sam Simmons, linebacker Billy Silva and quarterback Zak Kustok.

Anderson started the 2001 season on the short list for the Heisman Trophy. After a subpar year, he is expected to be drafted in the later rounds.

The running back considered declaring eligibility after the 2000 Alamo Bowl season, but he decided to return to NU as a fifth-year senior. He was projected as a first- to fourth-round selection in the 2001 draft.

The main knocks on Anderson are his size, receiving ability and blocking.

Neither Bentley nor Silva has completed his degree requirements, so draft celebrations will have to wait.

“You’re visiting teams, you’re in and out,” Bentley said. “I’ve missed so much class this quarter already just from visiting teams and working out and trying to get ready for the next season.”

And he’s looking forward to playing against his former NU teammates – and roommate Silva – in the NFL.

“I don’t know how it’s going to be playing against them because we’re so competitive on the same team,” Bentley said. “It’s going to get a little nasty. It always does.”

Bentley is projected as a second- to fifth-round pick. He said the Chicago Bears and the Cleveland Browns have shown particular interest in him.

Bentley compared himself to former NU linebacker Barry Gardner, who was a surprise selection by the Philadelphia Eagles with the No. 35 pick in the 1999 draft.

“There’s always going to be one or two teams trying to disguise what they’re doing who’ll end up taking you, and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I had no idea they even liked me,'” Bentley said. “I’m just going to wait and see.”

Silva, for one, has a low-key draft day planned.

“I’m just going to be doing homework all day and watching the draft,” he said.

The linebacker watched his early-round draft hopes go up in smoke when he was injured against Bowling Green in the fall. He tore his posterior cruciate ligament and knee capsule when he was kicked in the kneecap by an opposing lineman.

Silva said he has interviewed with more than 20 teams, but the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals have shown the most interest.

“To me it really doesn’t matter (where I go in the draft),” Silva said. “I’d like to go somewhere warm. It’s kind of a sad issue with how high my expectations were and the injury.”

The linebacker pair’s other roommate, current junior Pat Durr, will be scrimmaging with the rest of the team Saturday. But he’s planning to tape the draft.

“This is the hardest part, when your future, your fate is in someone else’s hands,” Durr said. “I’m just excited, I can’t wait to see where they go.”

Simmons has a chance to be chosen in the draft, but he might end up signing as a free agent.

The wide receiver and return specialist led NU in receiving yards and scored seven touchdowns last season.

Scouts consider Simmons a good athlete without extraordinary speed, and he is predicted to play as a slot receiver in the NFL.

Kustok is a long shot to go in the draft because of his limited skills. But his remarkable preparation and heart could make him a surprise pick.

Yet those six players aren’t the only Cats who might be playing at the next level in the fall. Three more – offensive linemen Leon Brockmeier and Mike Souza and punter J.J. Standring – also have a chance to be drafted, but more likely will sign as free agents.

“That’s some mystery, that NFL draft,” Walker said. “(In the later rounds), so much of that becomes need and fit and at the right place at the right time. It’s just a matter of getting a contract, getting into camp and getting a chance.”