John Urschel, Ravens Offensive Lineman, Publishes Math Paper

NPR ^ | 3/21/15 | Krishnadev Calamur

[gasport]

John Urschel is an offensive lineman for the NFL Baltimore Ravens whose Twitter handle is @MathMeetsFball. He has bachelor's and master's degrees in math, both with a 4.0 grade-point average. ... We should note, this isn't Urschel's first published math paper. He's also an avid chess player and hopes to be titled.

[Jonty30]

We need more people like him.

[gasport]

“I have a bright career ahead of me in mathematics. Beyond that, I have the means to make a good living and provide for my family, without playing football. I have no desire to try to accumulate $10 million in the bank; I already have more money in my bank account than I know what to do with. I drive a used hatchback Nissan Versa and live on less than $25k a year. It’s not because I’m frugal or trying to save for some big purchase, it’s because the things I love the most in this world (reading math, doing research, playing chess) are very, very inexpensive.”

A very, very smart fellow

[butterdezillion]

Sounds like he’s got a good on his shoulders, on many levels.

[BradyLS]

I play because I love the game. I love hitting people. There's a rush you get when you go out on the field, lay everything on the line and physically dominate the player across from you. This is a feeling I'm (for lack of a better word) addicted to, and I'm hard-pressed to find anywhere else. My teammates, friends and family can attest to this: When I go too long without physical contact I'm not a pleasant person to be around. This is why, every offseason, I train in kickboxing and wrestling in addition to my lifting, running and position-specific drill work. I've fallen in love with the sport of football and the physical contact associated with it.

Other than perhaps as a Chess-Boxer or UFC fighter, he's in exactly the right career field. I hope we hear more from him!

[Ken H]

'Did I do that?'

[Veggie Todd]

Yeah, and 20 years after he retires from football he’ll be drooling into a cup. If he’s so smart why is he risking his future health for a game?

[Jonty30]

The article doesn’t mention him having had any injuries in the game, so he’s probably been fortunate enough to not have had any serious ones.

He seems to be aware enough to see life beyond the game, if he did ever get knocked about, he’d probably contemplate retirement.

[cynwoody]

It would be interesting to hear his analysis of Chris Borland.

[cynwoody]

I already have more money in my bank account than I know what to do with.

Might it be time to quit while he's ahead? And invest that sizable nest egg?

[Veggie Todd]

The article doesn’t mention him having had any injuries in the game...

In all his years of football from (probably) age 10 to now, he's never been hit in the head? Yeah, things seem fine now, but later when his brain starts to shut down he's going to have some problems.

[Jonty30]

According to this, no injuries.http://www.kffl.com/player/29781/nfl/injury_history/john-urschel

[Clean_Sweep]

He said why, he’s addicted to hitting people and when he goes any long period whithout hitting people he gets nasty. In other words he’s a wack job.

[Vaquero]

Everyone is a wackjob. People who think about it find ways to control it. Others take meds. This is a better solution. He replaces football in the off season with other strenuous physical activity. He’ll do fine as long as he is not seriously injured in the NFL.

[Jonty30]

He’s not a whackjob. He is an aggressive individual who has found a productive outlet for his high energy. May the rest of us be so lucky.

[jocon307]

He must be amazingly smart.

GO RAVENS!

Perdogg, pinging you since I think you have the NFL ping list.

[9thLife]

Everyone is a wackjob. People who think about it find ways to control it. Others take meds. This is a better solution.

This a bizarre enough analysis that it might qualify as a full-blown projection.

[9thLife]

I love hitting people.

This is not normal.

[bramps]

Sounds like you played for awhile.

[trebb]

Yeah, and 20 years after he retires from football he’ll be drooling into a cup. If he’s so smart why is he risking his future health for a game?

Obviously not a football fan - is it OK for men to act like men or are they just too dang crude?