Michael Christopher Minter (born January 15, 1974 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a retired American football safety who played primarily for the NFL's Carolina Panthers. Minter attended Lawton High School in Lawton, Oklahoma where he started as running back and free safety. As a back, he led the state with 1,589 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns on 187 carries as a senior. Minter also averaged 21 points per game in basketball. Minter then attended the University of Nebraska, where he was a member of both national championship teams of 1994 and 1995. He redshirted as a true freshman, and played backup freshman year despite recording 21 tackles, two forced fumbles, and one sack. Sophomore year, Minter started the first two games of the season at free safety before tearing his left ACL, which took him out for the rest of the season. He played a key role as the starting strong safety for the 1995 national championship winning team, the first to win consensus back-to-back national championships in 40 years. He recorded 53 tackles, two interceptions, and deflected six passes. This earned him All-Big Eight second-team recognition. In his senior season, Minter started and played the first ten games at safety before moving to linebacker for the final two. He amassed 51 tackles, five interceptions, six deflected passes, and five quarterback rushes, which earned him All-Big 12 first-team honors.
