This guy played in the NFL and quit at 26 to pursue mathematics
>While a Penn State undergraduate, Urschel was involved in teaching integral vector calculus, trigonometry and analytic geometry, and introduction to econometrics.[14] In 2015, Urschel co-authored a paper in the Journal of Computational Mathematics[15] titled "A Cascadic Multigrid Algorithm for Computing the Fiedler Vector of Graph Laplacians". It includes "a cascadic multigrid algorithm for fast computation of the Fiedler vector of a graph Laplacian, namely, the eigenvector corresponding to the second smallest eigenvalue."[16]
>Urschel began a Ph.D. in mathematics at MIT in 2016,[17] focusing on spectral graph theory, numerical linear algebra, and machine learning.[18] MIT does not allow Ph.D. students to study part-time; while the Ravens knew that he was taking classes, Urschel admitted after retiring from the team that he did not disclose that he was a full-time graduate student. During the 2016 NFL season, after a home game Urschel studied from 5:30pm Sunday to Tuesday 11am when football practice began, taking correspondence classes.[19] On January 4, 2017, Urschel was named to Forbes' "30 Under 30" list of outstanding young scientists. His Forbes biography states "Urschel has published six peer-reviewed mathematics papers to date and has three more ready for review. That's a respectable publication history for someone who only started pursuing their PhD at MIT this year. He's won academic awards for his math prowess. All this while playing guard for the Baltimore Ravens."[20][21] His doctoral advisor is Michel Goemans.[22]
>As of 2017, Urschel has an Erd?s number of 4.[23]
