Captain Munnerlyn
Captain Lesean Munnerlyn is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League. He is currently the defensive coordinator for the Columbus Aviators of the United Football League. He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks for three years. He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL draft. Munnerlyn also played for the Minnesota Vikings.
Munnerlyn played high school football at Murphy High School in Mobile, Alabama, where he was named All-region three times. Following high school, he chose to play college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks after receiving scholarship offers from two other teams. As a freshman in 2006, he played in 11 games and recorded a season high five tackles in two. In 2007, Munnerlyn was both a nickel back and return specialist for the Gamecocks. Following the season, he was named All–Southeastern Conference. In 2008, he was elevated to starting cornerback while also returning kicks and punts. Against Kentucky, he returned a kickoff 84 yards and a blocked field goal 81 yards. On the second day of the 2009 NFL draft, Munnerlyn was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round.
Early life
Captain was born three months premature and at birth weighed three pounds, eight ounces. He grew up in Happy Hills, which was a crime-infested part of Mobile. While living there, he attended the Josephine Allen branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of South Alabama.When he was growing up, his father was murdered and both of his brothers sold drugs. His oldest brother, Timothy, was convicted in 1996 of murder and was sentenced to life in prison. After the shooting, Munnerlyn's mother converted to Christianity and he eventually did the same. Munnerlyn eventually said of the conversion and his mother's prayers that he would stay out of trouble, "Without her prayers, I don't think I could be here in the NFL right now".
Munnerlyn attended Murphy High School in Mobile, Alabama, where he starred in both football and track. In football, he was a three-time All-region selection and participated in the Junior All–Star Game. He helped lead Murphy High School to a 10–2 record and a 6A Regional runner-up finish his senior year, earning a spot on the Alabama Sports Writers Association All-State team. He graduated from Murphy in 2006.
During high school, Munnerlyn was also a standout track & field sprinter. He competed in the 100-meter dash and long jump at the 2004 Junior Olympics. In 2006, he earned a second-place finish in the long jump event at the AHSAA State T&F Meet, recording a career-best leap of 6.85 meters. He clocked personal-best times of 10.53 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 22.39 seconds in the 200-meter dash as a senior.
College career
After his high school career, Munnerlyn was recruited by South Carolina, West Virginia, and Kansas State. He chose South Carolina on January 13, 2006.As a freshman in 2006, Munnerlyn was not redshirted and played in 12 games. He missed one game due to an infection in his forearm. For the 2006 season, he recorded 36 tackles with his season high of five coming against Tennessee and Houston. Munnerlyn also recorded two interceptions and five pass deflections.
In 2007, as a sophomore, Munnerlyn split time at cornerback and kick returner and was called a "shut down corner" on Rivals.com. Against Vanderbilt, to whom South Carolina lost 17–6, Munnerlyn returned a punt 46 yards and also forced a fumble. In the same game, South Carolina wide receiver Kenny McKinley fielded a punt and flipped it to Munnerlyn who gained eight yards. Following the season, he was named a first–team All-SEC.
In week 6 of the 2008 season, head coach Steve Spurrier benched Munnerlyn for the first series of the game against Ole Miss due to Munnerlyn missing class and team weightlifting sessions. Against Kentucky, Munnerlyn returned a kickoff 84 yards before being tackled on the 16 yard line. On the next play quarterback Stephen Garcia completed a touchdown pass to Kenny McKinley. In the same game, Munnerlyn returned a blocked field goal for an 81-yard touchdown.
Munnerlyn declared for the NFL draft following the 2008 season. Munnerlyn played in 36 games with 28 starts for the Gamecocks. He finished his collegiate career with 127 tackles, two sacks, five interceptions, 19 passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. He also returned 33 kickoffs for 754 yards and 37 punts for 283 yards.
Statistics
Source:Professional career
Carolina Panthers (first stint)
2009
Munnerlyn was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL draft. Munnerlyn called being drafted by the Panthers, "exciting, because I played college ball at South Carolina, and that's only like an hour away. It was exciting to hear my name get called. I'm ready for it, ready to take my game to the next level." Munnerlyn holds the Panthers career interception return touchdown record with 5 touchdowns and is tied for the club's single-season record with 2, a feat he achieved in both 2012 and 2013 seasons, the only Panthers player to have multiple interception return scores in a season twice. The 5 interception touchdowns ranked second in the NFL from 2010 to 2014.In the 2009 preseason, Munnerlyn was competing with wide receiver Ryne Robinson for the punt returner job. In the Panthers second preseason game against the Miami Dolphins, Munnerlyn returned a punt 58 yards and also fumbled one but recovered it, while Robinson fumbled a punt which the Dolphins recovered. He eventually won the punt return job as well as the primary nickel cornerback spot beating out C. J. Wilson and Sherrod Martin by the end of September. On November 29, Munnerlyn suffered a concussion against the New York Jets but said days later that he planned on playing in the next game despite the NFL's changing of the concussion policy. Munnerlyn did not play the following week's game against the Buccaneers as he was inactive but returned the next week to play against the 8-5 New England Patriots; in the game, he recovered a fumble by running back Sammy Morris. In a Week 16 game at the New York Giants, he forced a fumble by quarterback Eli Manning on the last play of the first half. Munnerlyn completed his first season as a Panther playing in 15 games total with four starts, posting 43 tackles, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and two passes defensed as the Panthers defense finished fourth in the NFL in pass defense, eighth in total defense and ninth in scoring defense and recorded 18 takeaways in the final six games of the season. The Panthers ended up finishing 3rd in the NFC South with 8 wins and 8 losses. On special teams, Munnerlyn also averaged 9.0 yards on 31 punt returns with a long of 37 yards, returned one kickoff for 15 yards and was credited with four special teams tackles.
2010
For his second season, Munnerlyn moved up to starting right cornerback after Richard Marshall was not re-signed. In Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals, he snagged his first career interception against Carson Palmer. In his first start of the season in Week 12 against the Cleveland Browns, Munnerlyn stepped in front of a pass from Jake Delhomme intended for Mohamed Massaquoi to pick it off and return it 37 yards for the touchdown. He went on to start five of the last six games of the season for the Panthers. Playing in 16 games with five starts, Munnerlyn recorded 47 tackles and one forced fumble, tied for second on the team with three interceptions and ranked first with 10 passes defensed, contributing to a Panthers defense that ranked seventh in the NFL in average yards per play. He also led the Panthers with a 10.9-yard punt return average on 30 returns for 327 yards with a long of 37 yards and returned two kickoffs for 87 yards.2011
With his professional football career frozen in limbo by the NFL lockout, Munnerlyn spent the spring at Mobile's Murphy High School as a volunteer assistant, and the experience opened his eyes to the possibilities of life after football. Through 10 days of the Panthers' spring practice, Munnerlyn tutored Murphy's defensive backs as part of veteran coach Ronn Lee's staff. "It was fun," Munnerlyn said by phone from North Carolina, where he participated in informal workouts with his Carolina teammates. "Coach Lee gave me the opportunity to coach the defensive backs and give them some of the knowledge I have from the past, from high school, college and the NFL."Munnerlyn started 14 games at right cornerback for the Panthers in his third season with the team and responded with a then career-high 58 tackles to go along with two sacks, one quarterback pressure, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and seven passes defensed. He also accounted for six special teams tackles. In Week 5 at New Orleans Saints on October 9, he registered his first career sack, dropping quarterback Drew Brees for a six-yard loss on a blitz. In a Week 8 game against the Minnesota Vikings, he got his second sack of the season when he tackled Christian Ponder for a one-yard loss after he scrambled to the right to escape from pressure. Later in the game, he also stripped and recovered a fumble by Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin a yard shy of the endzone. In Week 15, he suffered a strained left hamstring at Houston and was therefore placed on injured reserve on December 23.