Ted Ginn , Jr . Theodore " Ted " Ginn , Jr . ( born April 12 , 1985 ) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Carolina Panthers . He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins as the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft . He played college football at Ohio State University . Early years . Ginn played for his father , Ted Ginn , Sr . , in high school at Glenville High School in Cleveland , Ohio , where he played defensive back , quarterback and wide receiver . Ginn , Jr . was selected as the 2004 USA Today Defensive Player of the Year , a 2004 Parade All - American , and named the 2004 SuperPrep National Defensive Player of the Year . He also participated in the U . S . Army All - American Bowl as a member of the East team , along with former Dolphins teammates Ryan Baker and Chad Henne , and was named the Most Valuable Player of the game . Ginn intercepted eight passes as a senior , returning five of them for touchdowns . One of his interception returns went for a state - record 102 - yard touchdown , while another went for a 98 - yard score . As a junior , he became the national champion in the 110 high hurdles and recorded the best time in the nation as a senior when he won the state title for the second consecutive year . As a senior in High School , he ran 7 . 44 in the 55 meter high hurdles , 7 . 98 in the 60 meter high hurdles , 13 . 26 ( + 2 . 8 wind rating ) and 13 . 40 ( - 1 . 2 wind rating ) in the 110 meter high hurdles , 21 . 16 in the 200 meter dash ( + 0 . 0 wind rating ) , 46 . 57 in the 400 meter dash , and 36 . 73 in the 300 meter intermediate hurdles College career . OSU track coach Russ Rogers recruited Ginn to run track , believing that he could qualify for the 2008 Olympics . However , his track career was put on hold in order to focus on football . Ginn was recruited as a defensive back by Ohio State . As a freshman , Ginn saw moderate playing time at receiver and finished the 2004 season with 25 receptions for 359 yards and 2 touchdowns . He also rushed for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground , led the nation with a 25 . 6 yards per punt return average , and returned four punts for touchdowns ( which broke a Big Ten Conference record first set by Gene Derricotte in 1947 that was later tied twice ) . One of the most memorable moments in his freshman season was in the 30 - 7 win over Indiana . A pass at the beginning of the first quarter was tipped by a diving Buster Larkins , only to be grabbed by Ginn . He then broke four tackles on his way to a 59 yard touchdown . Ginn earned a spot as the Buckeyes Starting receiver his sophomore year in 2005 . He finished the season with 51 receptions for 803 yards and four touchdowns . He also returned 18 kickoffs for 532 yards , along with 25 punts for 250 yards . Entering the 2006 season , Ginn was considered by many to be a preseason candidate for the Heisman Trophy and the Biletnikoff Award . He was a second team All - American selection and finished as the Buckeyes top receiver with 59 catches for 781 yards , while adding another 706 yards and two touchdowns on special teams . Ginn returned the opening kickoff of the 2007 BCS National Championship Game for 92 yards and a touchdown . Ginn sprained his left foot when fellow Buckeye Roy Hall slid into him during the celebration following the touchdown and sat on his foot . He left the game soon after and didn ' t return . Ginn finished his career at Ohio State with 125 receptions for 1 , 943 yards and 15 touchdowns in 37 games . He also rushed for 213 yards , returned 38 kickoffs for 1 , 012 yards , and gained 900 yards on 64 punt returns , the second highest total in Ohio State history . Overall , he gained 4 , 068 total yards and scored 26 touchdowns . He set a Big Ten record for most career punt return touchdowns with 6 . Professional career . Pre - Draft . After having to bypass the field drills at the 2007 NFL combine and Ohio State ' s official pro day due to a lingering foot injury suffered in the 2007 BCS Title Game , Ginn reportedly ran between 4 . 37 and 4 . 45 in a private workout for NFL Scouts held on April 12 , 2007 . Preceding the workout it was reported that a healthy Ginn had been timed as low as 4 . 28 in individual team drills during his tenure at Ohio State . In addition , in a 2007 interview with Stack Magazine while discussing his own personal improvement in the 40 yard dash , Ginn himself suggests that he had been timed at a personal best of 4 . 22 in the 40 yard dash . In the interview , while discussing his improvement since training at one of Tim Robertson ' s facilities , Ginn states " . . . as far as my running , it ' s changed me a lot . When I first got here I was running like a 5 . 1 40 , 5 . 2 40 to a 4 . 22 " . 2007 NFL Draft . Ginn was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft . Many were expecting the Dolphins to select Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn with the Dolphins in need of a quarterback , although they would end up drafting BYU quarterback John Beck in the second round . Although Ginn was considered the fastest , and one of the most athletic picks going into the draft , Miami ' s selection of Ginn was booed heavily by Dolphins fans at the draft and was criticized by football pundits and even teammates . Jason Taylor said he was in shock when Ginn was selected instead of Brady Quinn . Miami Dolphins . 2007 season . Although Ginn wore No . 11 in the team ' s initial minicamp , it was announced he would wear No . 19 during the regular season to honor his father , who wore the number in high school . Ginn eventually reached the end zone for the first time in Week 8 against the New York Giants on a 21 - yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cleo Lemon . In the second quarter of a November 18 game against the Philadelphia Eagles , Ginn returned a Saverio Rocca punt 87 yards for a touchdown . It was Ginn ' s first career touchdown return and tied for the longest punt return in franchise history . Ginn , who had never had more than three receptions or 37 receiving yards in any game prior , also set career highs with four receptions for 52 yards against the Eagles . For his performance , Ginn beat out four other candidates for the Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week . He received 40 percent of the fan votes . Also , Ginn was voted by his peers as the 3rd alternate to the 2007 Pro Bowl as a kick returner . Ginn finished his rookie season with 34 receptions for 420 yards and two touchdowns . He also had 24 punt returns for 230 yards and a touchdown , 63 kick returns for 1 , 433 yards , four rushes for three yards , and three fumbles . 2008 season . At the start of the 2008 season , Ginn was removed from his return duties and was replaced as a starting wide - receiver . In the season - opening loss to the New York Jets , Ginn had two receptions for 17 yards , a rush for two yards , but also had a fumble . He had a breakout game in a win against the Buffalo Bills , totaling 175 yards on 7 receptions , including a 64 - yard reception . After scoring on a 40 - yard end - around run and converting a crucial late - game fourth down play against the Oakland Raiders Ginn ended the season with 56 catches for 790 yards and 2 touchdowns , 32 kick returns for 657 yards and 7 punt returns for 54 yards , 2 rushing touchdowns on 5 attempts for 73 yards , and 5 fumbles . 2009 season . Ginn started the 2009 season slowly by catching two balls in his first game . Ginn then seemed to have a breakout game against the Indianapolis Colts on September 21 , 2009 , catching a career high 11 balls for 108 yards . Although a career game , he was criticized for dropping two potential touchdown passes , one in the final minutes of the game . The next two games Ginn dropped several passes and caught only one 4 - yard pass and had a 22 yard run . In Week 5 against the rival Jets , Ginn had just two catches , but one was a 53 yard touchdown against to help the Dolphins win . New Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne was hoped to improve Ginn ' s game . Ginn however continued to struggle in the passing game and was demoted to backup wide receiver after Week 7 . Ginn said he was angry and embarrassed about the benching entering Week 8 against the rival New York Jets . Although Ginn caught no passes in the game , he was given full time kickoff return duties , and took out his frustrations by tying an NFL record with two kickoff returns for touchdowns , one of 100 yards and the second of 101 . Those TDs are the only two of that distance in the same game ( the previous record was 2 TDs of 97 yards in the same game ) , and the first time a player returned two kickoffs in the same quarter since 1967 . Ginn won special - teams player of the month for his efforts . The next game against New England , Ginn again dropped several passes that included one in the fourth quarter during a last minute potentially game - tying drive . In the week 10 game against Tampa Bay , Ginn had zero catches despite several attempts and was ineffective in the return game . Ginn would finish the year 4th in dropped passes . For the year , Ginn had 1 , 826 all - purpose yards , including 1 , 324 return yards and 502 yards from scrimmage , with two fumbles . San Francisco 49ers . 2010 season . On April 16 , 2010 , Miami traded Ginn to the San Francisco 49ers for a fifth round pick ( Nolan Carroll ) in the 2010 NFL Draft . Ginn scored his first touchdown on a punt return against the St . Louis Rams . He caught his only receiving touchdown in the last game at home against the Arizona Cardinals . Ginn finished the 2010 season with 12 receptions , 163 yards , and 1 touchdown . He also ranked second in the league in punt return yards with a 13 . 3 average . 2011 season . Late in the fourth quarter of the 2011 season opener against the Seattle Seahawks , Ginn returned a kickoff ( 102 yards ) and a punt ( 55 yards ) for two touchdowns within 59 seconds for a game total of 268 return yards . For that accomplishment , he earned NFL special teams player of the week for week 1 . Earlier that week , Ginn had accepted a salary cut from $ 2 . 2 million per season to $ 1 million . 2012 season . On March 22 , 2012 , Ginn re - signed with the 49ers on a one - year deal . Carolina Panthers . On March 21 , 2013 Ginn signed a one - year deal with the Carolina Panthers . Personal . Ginn has admitted that he has a learning disability , and it takes him two to three times longer to learn something than most people . After being diagnosed in the eighth grade , Ginn had tutors to help him and graduated from middle and high school with honors .