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Former Nittany Lion John Urschel retires from NFL's Ravens

Urschel wants to work full-time on his doctorate in mathematics. A study showing the presence of CTE in the brains of former players was said to have had a role in his decision.

John Urschel played three seasons at guard and center for the Baltimore Ravens.
John Urschel played three seasons at guard and center for the Baltimore Ravens.Read more(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Two years ago, former Penn State and Baltimore Ravens guard John Urschel wrote an article for The Players Tribune titled, "Why I Still Play Football," a look at the conflicts he faces with the violence of the sport that he loves, and his desire to educate himself to the fullest in the field of mathematics.

"It's not rude to ask," Urschel said. "It's not some taboo topic that offends. It is a simple truth. Playing a hitting position in the NFL can't possibly help your long-term mental health. However, it's also true that how bad such a pursuit is for you is something that, I believe, no one really knows for sure right now."

However, two days after results of a study were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showing that chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was found in nearly 99 percent of the brains of deceased football players that were examined, Urschel unexpectedly announced his retirement on Thursday from the Ravens.

In a statement on Twitter, Urschel, 26, who notified head coach John Harbaugh of his decision 90 minutes before the Ravens' first full-team practice, cited his work on his doctorate in mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the upcoming birth of his first child as the reasons for stepping away.

He did not mention the CTE study on Twitter, but ESPN.com quoted a source as saying that Urschel's move was linked to the study.

"It wasn't an easy decision, but I believe that it was the right one for me," said Urschel, who played three seasons at guard and center for Baltimore. "There's no big story here, and I'd appreciate the right to privacy. I'm extremely grateful to the Ravens and blessed to have been able to play the game I love at the highest level.

"I'm excited to start working on my doctorate in mathematics full-time at MIT. I'm looking forward to the chance to take courses that are only offered in the fall semester while spending time with my fiancée and preparing myself for the new challenges that will come with fatherhood. We're expecting our first child in December."

The 6-foot-3, 300-pound Urschel, who started all 24 games at guard in the 2012 and 2013 seasons for Penn State, played in 40 games with Baltimore with 13 starts. He took part in 13 games last season, with three starts, and was expected to contend for the starting center job this season.

Harbaugh described Urschel's call Thursday as "out of the blue."

"He had been working hard," he told reporters. "He was working on his snaps all summer. He was doing a great job. It was definitely a lightning bolt that way."

Harbaugh would not go into what Urschel told him about giving up football. "That was something that's been on his mind for quite a while and throughout the offseason," he said. "That's what he decided to do. We respect John tremendously."

Urschel's biography at MIT mentions that he "currently [has] the fastest eigensolver for minimal Laplacian eigenvectors" and that he recently published a paper on "centroidal Voronoi tessellations."