Vince Cartaya didn’t want to play football at Northwestern — until he visited Evanston and everyone said the program had little chance to succeed.

Coming out of high school as an All-America linebacker, Cartaya received scholarship offers from Florida State, Miami (Fla.) and Michigan, but in 1999 he chose to play for a team coming off a 3-8 season because he wanted to turn the critics into believers and the Wildcats into champions.

“When I visited here, I had a gut feeling this is where I belonged,” Cartaya said. “A big part of what I try to be about is that I always want people to believe in things.”

His faith in the program spread quickly as NU won the 2000 conference title with Cartaya starting at fullback.

Now, two losing seasons and a position change later, Cartaya once again has the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong. When he starts at middle linebacker on Saturday against Indiana, it will be his first since 2000.

“By what he has done for this program he deserves to start,” NU coach Randy Walker said. “I don’t know if there’s a senior who I admire more than Vince Cartaya. If anybody had a reason to quit, it was Vince Cartaya, and he never did.”

Cartaya admits that moving from linebacker to defensive end to fullback and then back to linebacker was rough, but it was nothing compared to what he experiences each summer.

A Miami native, Cartaya attended a Jesuit high school and has spent most of his summers since the seventh grade in the Dominic Republic. He built bridges, aqueducts and lights for people in remote mountain villages.

“The trips have definitely been a huge part of my life and taught me so many things,” Cartaya said. “I wouldn’t be able to justify it in words. It’s such a key part of my life.”

On Saturday, Cartaya will play a crucial role in the Cats’ run defense. The 6-foot-3 linebacker will attempt to plug the holes that have allowed 341.9 rushing yards per game, the most in the nation.

“The most happy I was on Monday was when I found out Vince was starting,” senior offensive lineman Jeff Roehl said. “He’s given his heart and soul to this program, and there’s a kid who has never quit. They were putting him everywhere, and he’s kept the most positive attitude and worked as hard as anybody.”

While everyone else jogged to the locker room after a long practice Tuesday, Cartaya, the son of a Cuban refugee who emigrated to Florida in 1961, spent a few extra minutes fine-tuning his foot work in the cold night air.

Putting in the extra effort doesn’t bother Cartaya.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do before Saturday, but if there’s one thing I know about myself, it’s that I will work hard,” Cartaya said. “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long long time. I don’t think I will get wrapped up in the excitement, but will remain focused on what I need to do.”

After recording 10 tackles against Purdue last week, Cartaya showed the coaches the type of effort they want from starters in the front seven.

“It makes me so happy to know he is getting a chance to be a starter and lead the defense, because he’s one of the people on this team people look to as a leader,” Roehl said. “And I know if I had to say one thing for sure, it would be that Vince Cartaya will be successful at whatever he does in life.”

Cartaya, a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, majors in secondary education and aspires to teach high school English and coach football.

This week, he will be an on-field coach for the Cats’ defense, which will start only two other upperclassmen, cornerback Raheem Covington and safety Mark Roush, Cartaya’s close friend.

“I’m so excited that Vince is playing because he’s such a great guy, and he deserves it as much as anyone,” Roush said. “He always wants people to believe we can win, believe we can be a good team and believe in each other. It’s a great way to think about things.”

Cartaya believes the defense, which is currently the worst in the Big Ten, will turn things around if it remains confident in itself.

“You have to have perspective enough to not let losing kill you,” Cartaya said. “You’ve got to find that force and hunger from somewhere to remain positive.”