Captain Munnerlyn Captain Munnerlyn ( born April 10 , 1988 ) is a professional American football cornerback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He was drafted by the Panthers in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft . He played college football at South Carolina for three years . 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 ( 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 . On the second day of the 2009 NFL Draft , Munnerlyn was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round ( 216 overall ) . Early years . Munnerlyn was born three months premature in Mobile and at birth weighed three pounds , eight ounces . He grew up in Happy Hills , which was a crime - infested part of Mobile . 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 [ the NFL ] right now . " Munnerlyn attended Murphy High School where he was a three - time region selection and participated in the Junior All – Star Game . During high school he also was a track and field runner , competing in the and . College career . After high school Munnerlyn was recruited by South Carolina , West Virginia and Kansas State . He chose South Carolina on January 13 , 2006 . 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 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 First – team All – SEC . Head coach Steve Spurrier benched Munnerlyn for the first series 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 . He declared for the NFL Draft following the 2008 season . Professional career . Carolina Panthers . Munnerlyn was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft . He 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 . " In the 2009 preseason , he 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 third cornerback job beating out C . J . Wilson and Sherrod Martin for the job by the end of September . On November 30 , 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 but returned the next week against the New England Patriots . He completed the 2009 season playing in 15 games total as the Panthers finished 3rd in the NFC South with 8 wins and 8 losses . Dec . 23 , 2011 Panthers placed CB Captain Munnerlyn ( hamstring ) on injured reserve , ending his season . For his second season , Munnerlyn moved up to starting right cornerback after Richard Marshall was not resigned . On November 18th , 2012 he scored a Touchdown after an interception from Josh Freeman . Personal . When asked why his name is Captain , Munnerlyn said , " My momma promised my grandmomma that she could name the last child . I was the boy of the family , and she named me Captain . Her great grandfather was named Captain , so I got named after my great - great grandfather . My sisters and brothers have normal names . I got the odd name . In the beginning it was kind of rough . Kids used to tease me a little , but it fits my personality , because I feel like I ' m a leader . " Munnerlyn majored in criminal justice while at South Carolina .