VOTE: Who was the best Northwestern OLB over the last 25 years?

It's been 25 years since Northwestern's magical run to the Rose Bowl in 1995. WildcatReport is celebrating that Silver Anniversary by finding out who's been the best player at each position since that legendary team revitalized Wildcat football.

BEST IN 25 YEARS SERIES

OFFENSE: QB Dan Persa l RB Justin Jackson l WR D'Wayne Bates l TE Drake Dunsmore l T Zach Strief l G Ryan Padgett l C Rob Johnson

DEFENSE: DE Corey Wootton l DT Matt Rice l MLB Pat Fitzgerald

While middle linebacker has undoubtedly been the glamour position over the last 25 years, Northwestern has had its share of standout outside linebackers during that span, too.

It takes a special breed of athlete to play outside linebacker. They have to have a nose for the football and be able to make tackles in the box, but they also have to be able to play in space and in pass coverage. We've compiled a ballot of four of the best Wildcats to play the position over the last quarter century.

Read about the careers of each of our candidates below, and then vote for the player you think has been the best over the last 25 years on the WildcatReport Football Board. You'll find the link at the end of this story.

Reason he deserves it: He was one of the best athletes to ever wear purple. Harris was All-Big Ten at two different positions. Oh, and he also played basketball for the Cats.

The skinny: Big, strong and fast, Napoleon Harris could do it all.

Harris moonlighted as a basketball player his first two years in Evanston. He played in 18 games as a freshman in 1998-99, averaging 4.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per game. In 1999, he made a career-high 23 tackles in a single game against Indiana and then played in two games for the court Cats before hanging up his sneakers.

In 2000, Harris, then a junior, was a second-team All-Big Ten pick at outside linebacker for the Big Ten co-champions. He capped the season with a game-high 14-tackle performance in the Alamo Bowl.

Northwestern was thin at defensive end in 2001, so coaches moved Harris to the line. He wound up ranked fourth on the team with 78 tackles and second with nine TFL, and also had three sacks, 19 quarterback hurries, an interceptions, five PBUs, a forced fumble a blocked kick. He was again named second-team all-conference, this time at a different position.

In all, Harris played in 45 games at Northwestern, starting 29 of them. He currently ranks ninth on NU's all-time tackles list with 334, to go along with four interceptions.

Harris was drafted in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft, 23rd overall, by the Oakland Raiders. He was the first NU first-rounder in 19 years and wound up playing eight years as a linebacker in the NFL.

Reason he deserves it: No one recovered more fumbles in Northwestern history than Bentley, who also ranks sixth all-time in tackles and was a three-time All-Big Ten second-team selection.

The skinny: Playing on the side opposite of Harris, Bentley piled up an impressive list of statistics over his career.

His 390 tackles is the sixth-most in Northwestern history, and his 34 TFL places him in a tie for eighth all-time. He also recovered seven fumbles in his career, tied for the most in school history, and his 101 fumble-return yards is the most all-time.

Bentley had two games in his career that really stand out. In 1999, he made a career-best 25 tackles against Indiana, including an NU-record 21 solos. Then, in 2000, he was the national defensive player of the week after recording 12 tackles and three TFL, returning a fumble for a touchdown and blocking an extra point in a 47-44 double-overtime upset win over Wisconsin.

His 148 tackles in 1999 and 147 tackles in 2001 rank as the ninth- and 10th-most in a single season in NU history. In 2001, he led the Wildcats and ranked third in the Big Ten in tackles (13.3 per game), and had a team-best 12 TFL and three fumble recoveries.

Bentley was a fourth-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 2002 NFL Draft and played 10 years in the league.

Reason he deserves it: A three-time All-Big Ten honorable mention pick, Ariguzo was a big hitter with a nose for the ball who is tied for 10th all-time in tackles at Northwestern.

The skinny: Ariguzo took over the starting job as a redshirt sophomore in 2012 and didn't let go, starting 39 games in his career and making All-Big Ten honorable mention after each of his three seasons as a starter.

Ariguzo's first career start, at Syracuse in 2012, was a memorable one, as he picked off a pass to set up a touchdown and then recovered a fumble and returned it 33 yards for his only career TD. He was the Big Ten co-leader in fumble recoveries that season with four -- tied for most all-time in a season at NU -- and he led the Wildcats with 10.5 TFL.

In 2013, Ariguzo totaled 106 tackles, second-most on the team, and rang up double-digit tackles in a game five separate times. He also tied for third on the team with four interceptions.

As a senior in 2014, Ariguzo capped his career by making 104 tackles and recovering another fumble to give him five in his career, tied for eighth all-time at Northwestern.

Ariguzo finished his career with 333 tackles, tied for 10th-most in Wildcat history

Reason he deserves it: Fast, smooth and rangy, Hall's 16.5 TFL in 2017 is the most all-time for an outside linebacker and he was a two-time all-Big Ten honorable mention.

The skinny: Hall started 12 games in his first two years in Evanston. He started the last four games of the 2015 season as a redshirt freshman and wound up fifth on the team with 56 tackles, despite limited playing time. Then in 2016 he appeared in all 13 games, starting eight, and he finished third on the team with 73 tackles, to go along with six TFL.

In 2017, Hall had his breakout year, when he started all 12 regular-season games and got named honorable mention All-Big Ten. He led Northwestern and was second in the Big Ten and 13th nationally with 16.5 TFL that season. He also finished second on the team with a career-best 79 tackles.

NU fans will probably remember his leaping interception in the end zone that sealed Wildcats' triple-overtime win over Michigan State.

Hall came back to start the 2018 season from an ACL tear he suffered the previous December during bowl practice. He had 51 tackles, 5.5 TFL and three interceptions, tied for most on the team, in just nine games before shoulder surgery ended his season.

Despite the injury, Hall was still named honorable mention All-Big Ten in 2018.

Go to our Football Board to cast your vote. You can vote for any of the outside linebackers listed on our ballot, or you can vote for "Other" and identify your write-in candidate in your reply the message.

Hurry! The poll will close on Sunday night.

Ready? CLICK HERE TO VOTE