EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern junior quarterback Dan Persa wasn’t allowed to play football for most of his childhood.

His father decided it was best for Persa to play a bit of everything else and then unleash him on football when he was ready. Persa grew up playing hockey, soccer and basketball and even swam competitively. All the time, though, he desired what he couldn’t have.

“I wanted to play so much,” said Persa, who grew up in Bethlehem, Pa. “My dad’s like, ‘You got to wait. You got to wait.’ I hated him for it. It bugged me a lot.”

Now Persa is doubtful everything would have played out as it has if he had begun playing any earlier. Because from the second his dad gave him the go-ahead to begin his football career as a seventh grader, to now, a day before he steps onto the field as Northwestern’s starting quarterback against Vanderbilt on Saturday, Persa’s been on a non-stop mission to push himself to be the best.

“In the long run, it definitely paid off,” Persa said. “I think my dad didn’t want me developing bad habits as a kid. Especially in pee-wee football, there’s a lot of coaching that’s questionable. He wanted me to get some good coaching and at the same time not burn out because football is a sport you have to put a lot of time and effort into. It gets to be a grind. My dad made the right decision knowing that once I got into it I would want to do all I could to work at it.”

Ask any Northwestern coach or player about Dan Persa, and they all jump straight to his work ethic. He’s that guy who shows up early, leaves late, watches film at all hours, finishes sprints first and lifts weights (benches 385 pounds, squats 550, power cleans 330) not usually put up by 6-1, 210-pound quarterbacks.

“Unlike other guys, he’s a guy who is self-motivated,” Northwestern junior superback Drake Dunsmore said. “He doesn’t need people around him. He doesn’t need hype. He doesn’t need that background noise. He’ll work out with the team, and he’ll come back to the stadium and work out by himself. He just wants to be the best.”

“He’s our hardest working guy on the roster,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “I say that with confidence.”

Senior linebacker Quentin Davis simply said, “Dan’s just a workaholic.”

Persa doesn’t feel he’s doing anything extraordinary. Working hard has paid off for him in the past, so that’s what he does. He’s more surprised that others don’t do the same.

“It’s just from my parents [when I was] growing up always instilling in me a never-quit attitude,” Persa said. “If you want to be good, you’re going to have to work at it. You’re not just going to walk out somewhere and be the best or be any good.

“Maybe it’s just me, but I just think every day counts. If you put a lot of really good days together, really good training sessions, really good film sessions, they all add up to a pretty good product. I don’t know. That’s just how I view it. I think missing one day is as bad as a week.”

It’s that attitude that gave Fitzgerald and Northwestern offensive coordinator Mike McCall confidence in naming Persa the Wildcats’ quarterback after last year’s starter Mike Kafka graduated and moved on to the NFL.

“The mental part, leadership part, attitude part, we know what we got,” McCall said. “Outside of our four walls, I don’t know if anyone else sees that. In fact, I know they don’t, and that’s OK.”

Like any new starting quarterback, there is an unknown with Persa. He has looked sharp running Northwestern’s offense in the spring and the fall, but the deciding factor will be his play on Saturdays. No one can truly predict how he’ll fare against Vanderbilt, no matter how many touchdowns or interceptions he’s thrown against his own defense in practice.

Twice last season, Persa was given an opportunity to play an extended period of time when Kafka was injured, and he had his ups and downs both times. He showed off his running speed, but not much of his arm. He was for 14 of 23 for 115 yards against Penn State, and 5 for 9 for 37 yards, one touchdown and one interception against Iowa. He rushed for a combined 109 yards.

Persa doesn’t believe those two games are a barometer for what he’s capable of at quarterback.

“I think I can do more than that,” Persa said. “I think I had a little happy feet. I’d run when I didn’t really have to instead of staying in the pocket. I think I’ve definitely grown as a player since that point.

“I think they have a good reason to [question my passing.] I didn’t throw it as much or as often as I could have because I ran it a couple more times. They have perfect reason to think that. I have to prove them wrong this year.”

There are also questions about Persa’s size, but that’s always been the case with him. People see he’s 6-1, and they immediately start doubting him. Despite throwing for more than 2,000 yards and running for 1,000-plus as a senior in a competitive Pennsylvania area, a lot of colleges wanted to recruit him to play something other than quarterback.

“Obviously, I’m undersized,” Persa said. “I’m not going to deny that. They can question it. It’s just size. Look at Drew Brees. He won a Super Bowl.”

His teammates aren’t worried.

“People criticize him for his height or his arm,” Dunsmore said. “He’ll prove them all wrong this year. There’s plenty of quarterbacks his height and size that have been successful, and he’s going to be another one of them.”

Persa waited to play football as a child, was doubted and then excelled. Now, he’s waited to be Northwestern’s starting quarterback, is again doubted, and Fitzgerald is sure the story will end the same.

“Danny always has a chip on his shoulder, a little bit from a standpoint of I think a lot of people have told him he’s too-this and he’s too-that his whole life,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s used that the right way. He’s going to need to continue to use that the right way as he goes through this year.

“I don’t think you want anyone else to lead your program. He’s going to be exciting. There’s no question about that.”

Scott Powers covers high school and college sports for ESPNChicago.com and can be reached at spowers@espnchicago.com.