| No. 77 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Offensive tackle |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1981-07-31)July 31, 1981 (age 44) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 312 lb (142 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Moeller (Cincinnati) |
| College |
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| Awards and highlights | |
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Michael Anthony Muñoz Jr. (born July 31, 1981) is a former Americancollege football player. He was a consensusAll-Americanoffensive lineman for theTennessee Volunteers for four seasons during the early 2000s.
Muñoz was born inCincinnati, Ohio, the son ofCincinnati Bengalsoffensive tackleAnthony Muñoz.[1] He attendedMoeller High School in Cincinnati, where he was a standout player for the Moeller Crusadershigh school football team.[2][3] He was selected as a member of theUSA TodayAll-USA high school football team in 1999.[3]
His younger sister Michelle, who was a year behind him in school, was named AP Ohio Ms. Basketball in both her junior (1999-2000) and senior (2000-2001) seasons atMason High School and led the school to the Ohio Div. 1 state championship crown her junior year.[4] She played for theTennessee Lady Volunteers women's basketball team at theUniversity of Tennessee before transferring to play for theOhio State Buckeyes women's basketball team atOhio State University.[5]
Muñoz received anathletic scholarship to attend the University of Tennessee inKnoxville, Tennessee, and was a four-season starter for coachPhillip Fulmer'sTennessee Volunteers football team from2000 to2004.[3] He started 12 games as a true freshman in 2000, but missed his entire sophomore season in with a knee injury in 2001.[3] He returned to start 12 games as a redshirt sophomore in 2002, and started 13 games as a team captain during his 2003 junior season.[3]
For the first time in his college career, Muñoz was not forced to undergo surgery during his 2003–04 offseason, allowing him to fully participate in training sessions and workouts that he had often missed during his previous offseasons. As a senior in 2004, he was again chosen as team captain by his teammates, was recognized as a consensus first-teamAll-American, and received theDraddy Trophy in recognition of his outstanding athletic and academic accomplishments.[3] He was also a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection in 2003 and 2004.[3] During his four seasons playing for the Volunteers, he started in a total of 46 games.[6]
Following the 2003 season, he graduated from Tennessee with abachelor's degree inpolitical science and a 3.67grade point average, and was enrolled in amaster's degree program inpublic administration during his final season.[5]
Despite his decorated college football career, Muñoz was not chosen in the2005 NFL draft, largely because of his history of recurring knee and shoulder injuries.[5] In November 2005, he was elected trustee ofHamilton Township inWarren County, Ohio in his first run for elective office.[7] He subsequently earned amaster of business administration degree (M.B.A.) fromMiami University inOxford, Ohio, and now is Vice President of Youth Football & Character Development at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[8]