Dont'a Hightower secured the New England Patriots' Super Bowl victory with a game-saving tackle on Seattle Seahawks star Marshawn Lynch.
Unknown to most people at the time, Hightower played the final month of the season and the playoffs with a torn labrum in his right shoulder.
Hightower doesn't have any regrets entering the 2015 campaign.
"I'll take a torn shoulder any day to get a Super Bowl ring," Hightower told the Boston Herald's Karen Guregian.
Hightower emerged as a vital component of the Patriots' defense in 2014, forming an outstanding linebacker duo with Jamie Collins.
New England selected Hightower with one of two first-round picks in the 2012 NFL Draft (the other choice, Chandler Jones, was selected four picks before Hightower, 21st overall).
Hightower recorded 89 tackles and six sacks in 12 games.
"I knew my teammates needed me," Hightower said. "I know it's so cliche. But everybody out there was hurtin'. There's a lot of guys out there that was banged up. That's part of football. It's just a matter of what you do when you're challenged with adversity. Unfortunately, I was challenged with a torn labrum late in the season but I was able to fight through it.
"I wasn't going to be told that I couldn't play. I wasn't going to have any excuses for not playing well. So, I had a job to do, and went out and got it done."
Hightower was jubilant about reaching football's pinnacle after some fans contested that he wasn't living up to expectations after being chosen in the first round.
"I went through a lot in my first few seasons from guys in the media, and fans thinking I was a wasted pick, or a bust. I went through a hard time. A lot of guys do," Hightower said. "Some guys give up. Some guys keep fighting."
Now an established leader of the Patriots' defense and the star of a highlight-reel play that will live on in the Boston sports pantheon, Hightower can focus on rehabbing his shoulder and defending the team's Super Bowl championship.
