Napoleon Harris didn’t need four years at Northwestern to carve out a career path. He had it all figured out by age 6.

“He would always say, ‘I’m going to go pro and one day I’ll make some money,'” said Nate Bowman, Harris’ uncle.

The young boy was set on greatness, but Bowman was not buying the lofty prediction just yet.

“I said, ‘Yeah, right.’ He had to prove it to me.”

Fifteen years later, Harris expanded on his career prediction. This time the skeptical recipient was then-NU defensive coordinator Jerry Brown.

“I told Coach Brown before the (2001) season that I was definitely going to be a first-round pick,” Harris said. “He said that was pretty high talk I was talking, but he felt I was a guy who could back it up.”

Bowman and Brown became believers Saturday afternoon when they watched Harris don a silver and black Oakland Raiders cap and become a first-round pick for the team in the 2002 National Football League Draft. The 23rd overall selection, Harris was the first linebacker drafted this year and the first first-round pick from NU since 1983.

He will board a plane bound for Oakland on Thursday to begin a new life in the NFL.

“I’m going to come in, make plays and definitely try to be a starter,” Harris said. “They were (close to the) Super Bowl, and hopefully I can get us there.”

He spent draft day in the NU football meeting room, the same place where he addressed his teammates every week last fall as team captain. Droves of family members, friends, former teammates and coaches joined Harris to watch the draft and celebrate his achievement.

“I’m happy to be a Raider,” said the wide-eyed Harris, who wore a silver suit with silver and black alligator skin shoes that, in an unlikely coincidence, matched the Raiders’ colors.

After receiving a congratulatory phone call from Raiders head coach Bill Callahan, Harris raised his arms and was immediately mobbed by his supporters. While the celebration raged on the stage, NU coach Randy Walker stood in the back of the room and marveled at the scene.

“There’s a whole lot of time and money invested by the pro teams in this first pick,” said Walker, who was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals late in the 1976 draft. “So it’s a lot of excitement. He could have been drafted without ever going to the weight room because he’s that talented. But he made himself a first-rounder by running, conditioning and developing himself as a football player.”

Several NFL experts had Harris going to Oakland at No. 21, but the Raiders traded that spot to the Washington Redskins and took cornerback Phillip Buchanon from Miami University (Fla.) with the 17th overall pick. Harris said the reward was worth the wait.

“It wasn’t that tough. Hey, I never had $1 million in my life,” Harris said, referring to the hefty signing bonus he likely will receive from Oakland.

A player known for his charisma and confidence, Harris felt he was a good fit for the Raiders, a team loved and loathed for its hard-nosed style.

“They’re getting a player,” Harris said. “They’re definitely going to get someone there who is going to be exciting for the fans …. We’re trying to win some championships for Oakland.”

While Harris said the opportunity to play with future Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Tim Brown overwhelmed him, those closest to him say he will not be the prototypical rookie.

“Napo is not going to ever be demure, he’s going to have things to say,” Walker said.

Calm and collected throughout most of the day, Harris was jolted early in the afternoon when his phone rang shortly after the No. 5. pick was made. With the room hushed in anticipation, Harris informed his supporters that the call came from former NU teammate and current Seattle Seahawks cornerback Harold BlackMonday, who merely wanted to check in.

Harris called former Indiana quarterback Antwaan Randle El, his teammate at Thornton Township High School, shortly before the genuine news came in from Oakland,

Though Napo spoke confidently of his ability, his family kept his feet on the ground.

“With about two months of practice, I could take him out, no problem,” Bowman joked.