John Urschel: Ravens Revealed

Jul 24, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions guard John Urschel is interviewed during the Big Ten media day at the Chicago Hilton. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

In Ravens Revealed, we’ll be getting to know your favorite Baltimore Ravens. We all love stats and positional outlooks, but do you know what your favorite Raven likes for breakfast? Let’s go beyond just the numbers and find out what makes these players tick.

"“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.“ –John Urschel, The Players Tribune"

Full Name: John Cameron Urschel

Birthdate: June 24, 1991

Place of Birth: Winnipeg, Manitoba

Height: 6’3

Weight: 305 lbs

Acquired by Ravens:

Drafted by the Ravens in the 5th round of the 2014 NFL Draft, 175th overall.

Pre-draft Measurables:

Arm Length: 33”//Hand Size: 10 3/8”

40-yd Dash: 5.31 sec//20-SS: 4.47 sec//3-Cone: 7.55 sec

Vertical: 29”//Broad: 8’6//Bench: 30 reps

Notable Career Achievements:

Played in 11 games in his rookie year with 3 starts.
William V. Campbell Trophy Winner (2013)
84th James E. Sullivan Award Winner (2014)
Two time First Team Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American (2012, 2013)
Three Time Academic All-Big Ten honors (2011, 2012, 2013)
Two Time First-team All-Big Ten honors (2012, 2013)

A Cascadic Multigrid Algorithm for Computing the Fiedler Vector of Graph Laplacians

For those of you who might not understand this subtitle: don’t worry, you’re not alone. It’s the title of Urschel’s latest contribution to the the Journal of Computational Mathematics. You see, Urschel is a certifiable math genius with both Bachelor of Science and Master’s degrees in the subject. He also averaged a 4.0 GPA.

The Player’s Tribune

Urschel has written a number of articles for Derek Jeter’s website The Player’s Tribune, an editorial blog site aimed at giving a first-hand look into the lives of professional athletes from the players themselves. His first article in his rookie season was an analysis of the distribution of college majors among professional football players.

Also on Ebony Bird: Steve Smith, Ravens Revealed

Urschel also wrote a notable article in response to former 49er linebacker Chris Borland’s unexpected retirement due to concussion risks. Titled “Why I Still Play Football,” Urschel sympathizes with Borland, expressing understanding and even envy, but says that he is unable to leave the NFL because of his passion for the game and the fact that he “loves hitting people.”

How He Fits With Ravens

Currently sitting second on the depth chart at right guard behind Marshall Yanda, Urschel could be in line for bigger work in the years to come, depending on the contract statuses of impending free agents and current starters at guard Yanda and Kelechi Osemele. It’s widely speculated that Osemele might be the guard the Ravens pick to stay (no slight on Yanda, just because of age and contract implications), which would obviously give Urschel the inside track to a starting gig.

This is all dependent, however, on Urschel continuing his career in the NFL. He has a bright future in the world of mathematics, which would seem to be at odds with the smash-mouth and hard-hitting world of professional football. Urschel is a model teammate, and a stand-up guy. He says he loves playing football and hitting people and I’d be inclined to take his word on that.

Next: Terrell Suggs: Player Preview