John Urschel would really rather not be doing this interview. It鈥檚 not personal; it鈥檚 not me (I鈥檓 fairly certain). It鈥檚 just that a media tour cuts against everything he is 鈥� an introvert, one of the millions of us in this country with anxiety, a mathematician who is desperate to get back to work to make the next discovery, to learn more about the way our universe works.
But Urschel has to balance that impulse against the reality that he鈥檚 taken the time to write a book explaining all of that, and that it would be a waste of that effort not to try to get people to read it. That book, explores his particular path navigating the very top of two very different professions.
There鈥檚 an honesty and a clarity in the way he speaks that not many people share. But that hardly means he鈥檚 an open book of answers without the right questions to prompt them. The last time we spoke, two-and-a-half years ago, it had been reported that he was only studying for his Ph.D. in the NFL offseason. That was later revealed not to be the case, something Urschel declined to mention in that interview.
鈥淲ell, did you ask me if I was doing both at the same time?鈥� he asked this time. (I checked the tape 鈥� I hadn鈥檛).
It wasn鈥檛 until later that I realized I鈥檇 missed the opportunity for the follow-up: Would you have told me if I had?
Below is a Q&A with Urschel. It has been edited for clarity and brevity.
草莓传媒: I know you鈥檙e in the middle of a lot of interviews, so I鈥檒l try not to ask the same questions everyone else is
John Urschel: 鈥淭hank you, I appreciate that.鈥�
This is essentially an autobiography. Did you have any trepidation about writing an autobiography while you鈥檙e still in your 20s?
鈥淵eah, that鈥檚 a great question. No, mainly because this really did not come about in the sense of, like, I thought, 鈥極h, I want to write an autobiography.鈥� This is not at all how this book came to be, I would say. It really started as, 鈥業 really want to share my experiences with mathematics, my story with math, and my love of mathematics.鈥� And Penguin loved the idea, but they sort of pushed me to say, 鈥楴o, John, you have to really put more of yourself into it. You really do have to talk about football, because it was such a big and important part of your life.鈥� And I think they were correct and I鈥檓 glad they sort of gave me that pushback, because I鈥檓 really happy with the finished product. In many ways, I鈥檇 say it鈥檚 not really an autobiography, it鈥檚 really sort of a 鈥� love story to the two passions of mine. And I think, yes, I am young, but there was a very natural breaking point in my life which makes it very reasonable. This is a very self-contained story.鈥�
You jump back and forth between the two topics. You talk a lot in the book about compartmentalizing to be able to do both. Do you think that鈥檚 something that exists in high achievers in all fields?
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a great question. I鈥檓 not certain, but I think so. All the people that I鈥檝e met who are capable of doing multiple things at a high level are really good at compartmentalizing. Because you have to. Because your ability or inability to do one task at a certain time shouldn鈥檛 cripple you and make you unable to do anything else. I think it鈥檚 really important to be able to go back and forth and not have one thing influence the other. This is very crucial.
Is there someone who you can point to, in either football or math, who is a good example of someone who can wholly encapsulate everything and focus on that?
鈥淓ncapsulating multiple things and focusing on multiple things? I鈥檓 having a hard time thinking of someone. But, for instance, when I played for the Ravens, Marshall Yanda, one of the things he was always big on was this concept of just, 鈥楧o your job.鈥� Don鈥檛 pay attention to what鈥檚 going on in the game. Don鈥檛 worry about any of this. Don鈥檛 get emotional about things you can鈥檛 control. Just do your job.鈥�
Whose decision was it to write it in the back and forth way? Was that something you figured out with Louisa (Thomas, his partner and co-writer)?
鈥淎t first it was, let me tell you (laughing), at first, it was very, very math-heavy. I was sprinkling the football in. And (publisher) Penguin said, 鈥楴o, no, no, we want you to truly flesh out all the things you鈥檙e experiencing, all the things you鈥檙e going through.鈥� And then it became obvious to me and Louisa, we need to really split this, really make it like two books in one, in some sense. I think that was the right decision, and I鈥檓 very, very grateful to Penguin for sort of pushing me to really make this book as great as I possibly can. Because the math that I wanted to convey, and my experiences with mathematics, it鈥檚 all there. But also, there is my experiences with football. And my experiences trying to juggle both, trying to be great at both at the same time. I think I鈥檓 just really pleased with how it all turned out.鈥�
Your passion for the math is obvious as a reader. Was it a struggle to bring same energy to the football side of it?
鈥淣o, no, not at all. I have to say, looking back on a lot of my football experiences, I just have amazing memories, especially from playing college football at Penn State. So it was really enjoyable to look back and think about these things.鈥�
How long were you both playing in the NFL and studying in the Ph.D. program and at the same time, and was there a defining moment when you realized it was too much?
鈥淥h, yeah, I would say after my third year in the league? That season? That one was a little much. Like, I really thought, this was really starting to become a little much. These are two full-time jobs, and do I really want to do this again?
Was there ever a worry when you left football that you would use the platform the NFL afforded you to connect with and inspire people?
鈥淲ell, first of all, I have this platform. I don鈥檛 particularly like it, really, if we鈥檙e being really, really honest. I think there鈥檚 more deserving people to sort of champion math and champion the benefits of it. But for some reason, people like football. I鈥檓 in the spotlight. This is my responsibility, and I take that very, very seriously. And I have a responsibility to do the things I do. I really have to say, I鈥檓 not a big fan of attention. I鈥檓 not really a big fan of people all up in my business. I鈥檓 a simple guy. I like simple things. I like leading a simple life. And this book was really, and in many ways is really, me saying goodbye to this chapter in my life. I hope young people can take something from this. I hope this can be inspirational, especially for young people. And I will continue to champion mathematics, but I will not mind one bit if that platform, at least sort of through sports, just sort of disappears. That鈥檚 fine by me.鈥�
Is the book tour taking you away from stuff you鈥檇 rather be doing?
鈥淵es, I have to say, this book tour has been absolutely dreadful. I鈥檓 really not enjoying it (pause). But I am also enjoying it in the following sense. I really don鈥檛 like being the center of attention. I really like just doing my math and doing things I really enjoy. And this book is really important to me. But I have to admit, doing media is not the easiest thing in the world for me. And especially taking time away from math. You know, I really enjoy math. And when I鈥檓 doing something else that鈥檚 not math, it鈥檚 not so enjoyable. But I think it鈥檚 really important that I do do this. First of all, it is important that I talk about the book, that I promote the book, because I think this book is really good. I spent a lot of time on it. I spent a lot of time sort of crafting it, going through the mathematics and making sure it鈥檚 the perfect level for people. This book is really important to me and I think I鈥檇 be doing myself a disservice if I put in all this work on a book that really, really matters to me, but then I just said, 鈥極h, I鈥檓 going to take it easy on promoting it because I don鈥檛 really love doing media.鈥欌��
Football鈥檚 always served as this outlet away from math. Do you find yourself searching for another place away from math, or are you happy to be able to devote your attention 100 percent to your work?
鈥淣o, I don鈥檛 really need something to fill that gap, I don鈥檛 think. Happily, my focus definitely isn鈥檛 100 percent on math. I鈥檓 very focused on raising my daughter, and this has taken up a lot of time.
Are you working on anything you鈥檙e really excited about that you鈥檙e able to talk about?
鈥淧lenty of things I鈥檓 very excited about, nothing I can talk about.鈥�
