Former Penn State football offensive lineman and current MIT Ph.D. candidate John Urschel was in the giving mood this Christmas.

The 2013 Walter Campbell Trophy winner, an award otherwise known as the “Academic Heisman,” received an email from the dad of a Penn State football fan and West Chester University student, Xavier Briel. Briel’s dad emailed Urschel that his son was both a math major and Penn State football fan and Urschel decided to play Santa Claus this Christmas. The First Team Academic All-American, who earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Penn State, gifted Briel the first undergraduate math textbook that he used at Penn State.

Within the book, Urschel even wrote a message of encouragement for Briel. Urschel wrote, “I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!”

Briel took to Twitter to thank Urschel for his random act of kindness. He said that he would never forget Urschel’s gift.

So my dad emailed John Urschel and told him I was a Math major and a big Penn State fan and he sent me his first ever Calculus book. Thank you so much @JohnCUrschel I will never forget this #WeAre pic.twitter.com/DSC0arrqM0

— X (@Xavier_Briel) December 25, 2017

And Urschel even took the time to respond to Briel, wishing him a merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas

— John Urschel (@JohnCUrschel) December 26, 2017

Urschel retired from the NFL just before the current 2017-2018 season, ending his three-year career with the Baltimore Ravens. In what was somewhat of a surprise move, Urschel’s retirement announcement came just a couple days after a study was released linking football careers to more severe cases of CTE. Even as an NFL player for the Ravens, Urschel maintained his status as a full-time Ph.D. candidate at MIT, and he continues that pursuit of a doctoral degree.