The name on the back of the jersey may be familiar, but Captain Munnerlyn Jr. is carving out his own place in Alabama high school football.
The Williamson sophomore climbed one spot to No. 19 in AL.com’s Best in Bama rankings after another big defensive showing in a 42-0 win over previously undefeated Orange Beach. Williamson has now posted four shutouts in five games, and every one of its victories has come by at least 33 points. The lone close call was a 19-18 win over Pine Forest of Florida.
At 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, Munnerlyn is part of a loaded Williamson defense that also includes Florida linebacker commit Ellis McGaskin and Oklahoma safety commit Jaylen Scott. So far this season, Munnerlyn has six solo tackles, seven assists, seven pass deflections, two tackles for loss and an interception returned for a touchdown.
The numbers are eye-catching, but opposing quarterbacks have mostly learned to stay away from him. That’s a compliment in its own right, especially with senior Julian McDonald locking down the other side of the field.
“I only get one or two targets a week,” Munnerlyn said. “But our whole defense is great.
We think we’ve got the best duo of corners in the state. I don’t think anybody is going to score on us the rest of the season.”
For Munnerlyn, the football pedigree is impossible to ignore. He is the son of an All-SEC cornerback at South Carolina and a 10-year NFL veteran, and he said that brings its own kind of pressure.
“It’s a lot of weight on my shoulders,” Munnerlyn said. “But he teaches me a lot and tells me a lot about the game.
He will record my bad clips and my good clips and tell me what I’m doing right and wrong. He was a dog.
The one thing we have in common is that we’re both physical players.”
Munnerlyn has already taken recruiting trips to Florida, LSU and Ole Miss this year, and he also plans to visit his dream school, Alabama. For now, though, his attention stays on Williamson’s push for a state championship.
He’s not the only son of a famous Alabama football name making noise in the rankings. Gunner Rivers at St. Michael, CJ Davis at Spain Park and Munnerlyn are all part of this week’s Best in Bama list, a statewide ranking of the top high school prospects regardless of classification or graduating class.
Williamson is one of just three schools with three or more players in the rankings. Thompson leads the way with five.
Prattville now has four after linebacker Jaason Crenshaw Jr. joined the list. Williamson has three, while Saraland, Central-Phenix City, Vigor, Spain Park, Selma, Orange Beach and Clay-Chalkville each have two.
Plainview defensive back Kylen Johnson stayed at No. 16 despite a broken collarbone that could sideline the junior for several weeks.
The rankings include 2 sophomores and 4 freshmen. By college commitment, Alabama leads with 6, followed by Auburn with 5.
Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Miami, Arkansas and Georgia Tech each have 2. North Carolina State, Ohio State, Oregon, West Virginia, Clemson, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Baylor, Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt each have 1, and 17 remain uncommitted.
By position, the list includes 7 quarterbacks, 3 running backs, 7 wide receivers, 3 tight ends, 5 offensive linemen, 13 defensive linemen, 5 linebackers and 7 defensive backs.
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