Captain Munnerlyn

Captain Lesean Munnerlyn (born April 10, 1988) is a former American football cornerback.

He played college football at South Carolina for three years.

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 competed in the 100-meter dash and long jump at the 2004 Junior Olympics.

As a freshman in 2006, he played in 11 games and recorded a season high five tackles in two.

He graduated from Murphy in 2006.

During high school, Munnerlyn was also a standout track & field sprinter.

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 (22 ft, 4.75 in).

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.

After his high school career, Munnerlyn was recruited by South Carolina, West Virginia, and Kansas State.

He chose South Carolina on January 13, 2006.

Munnerlyn played in 36 games with 28 starts for the Gamecocks and entered the NFL Draft following his junior season.

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 (22.8 ypa) and 37 punts for 283 yards (7.6 ypa).

As a freshman, 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, Munnerlyn was both a nickel back and return specialist for the Gamecocks.

Following the season, he was named All–Southeastern Conference (SEC).

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 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.

He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round, 216th overall of the 2009 NFL Draft.

Munnerlyn also played for the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills.

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.

On the second day of the 2009 NFL Draft, Munnerlyn was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round (216th overall).

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.