Michael Anthony Muñoz Jr. (born July 31, 1981) is a former American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player. He was an All-American

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

for four seasons during the early 2000s.

Early years

Muñoz was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, the son of

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

Anthony Muñoz Michael Anthony Muñoz (born August 19, 1958) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 13 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the US ...

. He attended

Moeller High School Moeller High School ( ), known as Moeller, is a private, all-male, college-preparatory high school in the suburbs of Cincinnati, in Hamilton County, Ohio. It is currently one of four all-male Catholic high schools in the Cincinnati area. Histo ...

in Cincinnati, where he was a standout player for the Moeller Crusaders

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

team.UTSports.com, University of Tennessee Football
incinnatiMichael Munoz 77
Retrieved June 16, 2012. He was selected as a member of the ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' All-USA high school football team in 1999. 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 at Mason High School and led the school to the Ohio Div. 1 state championship crown her junior year. She played for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers women's basketball team at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

before transferring to play for the

Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball The Ohio State women's basketball team represents Ohio State University and plays its home games in the Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center, which they moved into in 1998. Prior to 1998, they played at St. John Arena. They have ...

team at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

.Tim Layden,
Turning the page: NFL teams passed on Munoz, but he has a Plan B
" ''Sports Illustrated'' (April 27, 2005). Retrieved June 16, 2012.

College career

Muñoz received an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

to attend the University of Tennessee in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

, and was a four-season starter for coach

Phillip Fulmer Phillip Edward Fulmer Sr. (born September 1, 1950) is a former American football player, coach, and athletic director at the University of Tennessee. He served as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers football team from 1992 to 2008, compiling ...

Tennessee Volunteers football The Tennessee Volunteers football program (variously called "Tennessee", "Vols", "UT", or "Big Orange") represents the University of Tennessee (UT). The Vols have played football for 130 seasons, starting in 1891; their combined record of 862� ...

team from

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. He started 12 games as a true freshman in 2000, but missed his entire sophomore season in with a knee injury in 2001. 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. For the first time in his college career, Munoz 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-team All-American, and received the

Draddy Trophy The William V. Campbell, formerly the Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy, is awarded by the National Football Foundation to the American college football player with the best combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance. It is ...

in recognition of his outstanding athletic and academic accomplishments. He was also a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection in 2003 and 2004. During his four seasons playing for the Volunteers, he started in a total of 46 games.Associated Press,
Father: Injuries likely hindered prospects
" ESPN.com (April 25, 2005). Retrieved June 16, 2012. Following the 2003 season, he graduated from Tennessee with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and a 3.67

grade point average Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

, and was enrolled in a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

program in

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

during his final season.

Life after football

Despite his decorated college football career, Muñoz was not chosen in the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 23–24, 2005 NFL seaso ...

, largely because of his history of recurring knee and shoulder injuries. In November 2005, he was elected trustee of Hamilton Township in

Warren County, Ohio Warren County is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 242,337. Its county seat is Lebanon, Ohio, Lebanon. The county is ...

in his first run for elective office. He subsequently earned a

master of business administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree (M.B.A.) from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

, and now is Vice President of Youth Football & Character Development at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munoz, Michael 1981 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive tackles Players of American football from Cincinnati Tennessee Volunteers football players William V. Campbell Trophy winners People from Mason, Ohio American sportspeople of Mexican descent