Iowa State’s Luke Knott calls it a career

AMES — Luke Knott faced injuries head on and overcame the discomfort for a time through sheer toughness, just like his brother Jake before him.

As the surgeries and strains on his body piled up, however, Knott finally said enough is enough.

Iowa State announced Friday that Knott will forgo his final season of eligibility with the football team. Knott reached the decision after starting winter workouts with the Cyclones, but realized his hip was going to hinder production drastically.

Knott, who will graduate this spring and already has a job lined up in Kansas City, cited his academic progress and multiple hip surgeries in four seasons in Ames for his reasons in moving on.

'Obviously, I thought about this a lot,' he said in a release from Iowa State. 'Two years ago when I had my first hip surgery, my first thought was, 'I'm a 19-year-old kid and I am having hip surgery?' I made the decision to take it head on, go through rehabilitation and keep playing football. Then I had hip surgery again a year later. That was the first time I thought that football may not be in the best interest for me.

'I didn't want to give up football because I didn't want to walk away from my teammates. I barely made it through last season. You can tell when you watch the film. This is an exciting time for Iowa State and I wanted to be a part something special next year. However, going through the initial workouts, I just didn't have it in my hip.

'It's time start a different career. I have to start thinking long term. I want to be able to run around with my kids and something like that puts it in perspective. I want to thank Coach (Matt) Campbell and his staff. They were really understanding and helped ease my mind. They knew my history. This coaching staff knows what they are doing. I told Coach Campbell that the hardest thing for me was to walk away now when I feel we are on the cusp of something great. ... Coach Campbell told us to use college football to get a degree and a career, and I felt that I have done that. I want to thank all of my coaches, my teammates and the fans. I've enjoyed every minute of my time as a Cyclone.'

As a red-shirt freshman in 2013, Knott started five games at linebacker before getting sidelined with his first hip injury — which required surgery. He had hip surgery again a year later, but saw his most productive season in 2014 when he was third on the team in tackles (74).

Knott finished his career with 140 tackles and was a three-time first-team academic all-Big 12 honoree (2013, 2014, 2015).

'I don't know if anybody loves Iowa State football more than Luke Knott,' Campbell said in a statement. 'Luke obviously comes from a great family and a great tradition at Iowa State. You just want to put your arms around a kid like Luke, because here is a guy who was straining and doing everything in his power to play, but his body wouldn't allow him to play anymore. The thing that I appreciate more than anything is that he has already been a part of the culture change here. He was doing a tremendous job leading our program.

'I hope Luke stays around us. He's a special young man and he's already left a great legacy here at Iowa State because of his commitment to be the best.'

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