John Urschel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Urschel
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Urschel with the Baltimore Ravens in 2015
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| Born | June 24, 1991 |
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| Scientific career | |||||
| Fields | Mathematics | ||||
| Institutions |
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| Thesis | Graphs, Principal Minors, and Eigenvalue Problems (2017) | ||||
| Doctoral advisor | Michel Goemans | ||||
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Football career |
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| Personal information | |||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 300 lb (136 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Canisius (Buffalo, New York) | ||||
| College: | Penn State | ||||
| NFL Draft: | 2014 / Round: 5 / Pick: 175 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||
John Cameron Urschel (born June 24, 1991) is a Canadian-American mathematician and a former professional football player. He played college football for Penn State and was picked by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2014 NFL draft. John played for the Ravens for three seasons before he decided to retire on July 27, 2017, when he was 26 years old.
Urschel has earned several degrees in mathematics. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from Penn State. He also has a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). John writes articles about advanced sports statistics for The Players' Tribune. He also served on the College Football Playoff selection committee for three years, starting in 2020. Today, he is a professor in the Department of Mathematics at MIT.
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Early Life and Education Journey
Urschel was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. His parents were a surgeon and an attorney. He grew up in Buffalo, New York, and finished high school at Canisius High School in 2009.
At Pennsylvania State University, Urschel earned two degrees in mathematics. He got his bachelor's degree in 2012 and his master's degree in 2013. Later, he earned his PhD in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2021. While at Penn State, he won the William V. Campbell Trophy. This award is often called the "academic Heisman" because it recognizes top student-athletes.
Professional Football Career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | Wonderlic |
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| 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
313 lb (142 kg) |
33 in (0.84 m) |
10+3⁄8 in (0.26 m) |
5.31 s | 1.84 s | 3.08 s | 4.47 s | 7.55 s | 29.0 in (0.74 m) |
8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) |
30 reps | 43 |
| All values from NFL Combine | ||||||||||||
The Baltimore Ravens chose Urschel in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL draft. In 2014, he played in 11 games and started three for the Ravens. He played in all 16 games in 2015, starting seven of them. In his last season in 2016, he played in 13 games and started three.
On July 27, 2017, Urschel announced he was retiring from the NFL. He played for three seasons. News reports suggested that a study about brain injuries in football players, called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), influenced his choice. Urschel said that CTE was a serious concern for him. However, he also stated that he loved the NFL and football. He wouldn't trade his experiences for anything. He still believes football is a great game.
Even after retiring as a player, John stayed involved in football. On January 22, 2020, he was chosen for the College Football Playoff selection committee. He served on this committee for three years.
Mathematics Career
While working on his master's degree at Penn State, Urschel also taught math classes. These included vector calculus and trigonometry. In 2014, he was recognized as an Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholar. In 2015, Urschel helped write a paper for a math journal. The paper was about a fast way to calculate something called the Fiedler vector. This vector is important in understanding graphs and networks.
Urschel started his PhD in mathematics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2016. He focused on areas like spectral graph theory and machine learning. MIT requires PhD students to study full-time. While the Ravens knew he was taking classes, Urschel later shared that he didn't tell them he was a full-time student. He took online classes between games and practices.
On January 4, 2017, Urschel was named to Forbes' "30 Under 30" list. This list highlights outstanding young scientists. Forbes noted that Urschel had published six math papers and had more ready for review. He also won academic awards for his math skills, all while playing for the Baltimore Ravens.
Since 2017, Urschel has an Erdős number of 4. This number shows how closely a mathematician is connected to Paul Erdős, a famous mathematician. His PhD thesis, titled Graphs, Principal Minors, and Eigenvalue Problems, was finished in 2021. His advisor at MIT was Michel Goemans. He was also a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. In the fall of 2023, Urschel became an assistant professor in the MIT Math department.
Awards and Honors
- 2009: Mr. Canisius
- 2013: Senior CLASS Award
- 2016–2018: Dean of Science Fellowship
- 2017: Forbes's "30 Under 30" list in science
- 2024: Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, Dartmouth College
Chess
Urschel enjoys playing chess. He competed in the 2015 Pittsburgh Open chess tournament. He finished in 12th place in his rating section. Urschel also plays online chess on Chess.com. He has even been a commentator for Chess.com's BlitzChamps event, which is a fast-paced chess tournament for NFL players.
Personal Life
Urschel is married to writer Louisa Thomas. They met when she was writing an article about him. They have two children together. Urschel's autobiography, Mind and Matter: A Life in Math and Football, was co-written by Thomas. It was published in 2019.
See also
- Frank Ryan – a former NFL player and mathematician, who also had an academic career while playing football
