Find a tougher player in the Big 12 than Iowa State linebacker Jake Knott.

I dare you. You'll be looking awhile.

He had postseason shoulder surgery on Tuesday, but offered up a new revelation to the Ames Tribune this week: He re-broke his arm in the season-opening win against Northern Iowa.

He played through shoulder pain this season, and the surgery, according to Knott, is to "put it back to together basically, shoulder reconstruction surgery."

It's easy to see why he might need it. He dislocated the shoulder twice in one game against Baylor this season, but he made four tackles, forced a fumble and intercepted a pass that night.

This season, Knott also played with a back injury and a broken thumb.

All this after the spring, when he returned to the practice field 24 hours after originally breaking his arm.

Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads' quote after the Baylor game says it all.

"I worry about what he’s going to feel like when he’s my age," he said. "He is always going to put himself in that situation because he plays the game the right way. He plays it so hard. You can win a lot of football games with the Jake Knott’s of this world."