Robert Edward Bettis Bounds (born January 13, 1969) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

who played two seasons with the

Cleveland Thunderbolts The Cleveland Thunderbolts were an arena football team based in Richfield, Ohio. The Thunderbolts were founded in 1991 and were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL). In 1994, the franchise relocated to Columbus The team played for four ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

East Texas State University East Texas A&M University (ETAMU; formerly Texas A&M University–Commerce) is a public university in Commerce, Texas, United States. With an enrollment of over 12,000 students as of fall 2017, the university is the third-largest institution in ...

, where he was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He was also a member of the Benicarlo Tifons in Spain and the

Shreveport Pirates The Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States. They were established in 1994 as part of the CFL's expansion into the United States and disbanded upon the ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL).

Early life

Robert Edward Bettis Bounds was born on January 13, 1969, in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. He moved to

Picayune, Mississippi Picayune ( ) is the largest city in Pearl River County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,885 at the 2020 census. The city is located approximately from New Orleans, Hattiesburg, and Gulfport–Biloxi. The Stennis Space Cen ...

at an early age and was a standout quarterback at

Picayune Memorial High School Picayune Memorial High School is a grade 9–12 high school located in Picayune, Mississippi, United States. It is in the Picayune School District. Communities in the school district (of which this is the sole comprehensive high school) are al ...

, in the Southwest part of Mississippi. In his senior season for the Maroon Tide, Bounds led Picayune to Win the 5A State Championship. Bounds graduated from PMHS in 1987 and accepted a scholarship to play

College career

Freshmen and sophomore seasons

Bounds

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

the 1987 season, and then was a back-up to All-Conference QB and future professional

Mike Trigg Michael Trigg may refer to: * Michael Trigg (quarterback), American football quarterback and head coach * Michael Trigg (tight end) Michael Trigg (born June 27, 2002) is an American college football tight end for the Baylor Bears of the Big 12 ...

. He saw his first action during the 1988 season in which the Lions finished 8–3 and second in the Lone Star Conference. Bounds became the starter in 1989 as a sophomore as the Lions finished 4–6 and fifth in the conference. Bounds completed 107 passes out of 198 attempts for 1,521 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.

Junior season

In Bounds' junior year the Lions had a major turnaround as he led ETSU to a Lone Star Conference Championship with a 7–0 record in conference play, the Lions first conference championship since 1983. The Lions also qualified for the NCAA Division II National Playoffs for the first time since joining the NCAA in 1982. The Lions defeated Grand Valley State but then bowed out to eventual national champion Pittsburg State to finish with an overall 10–3 record. Bounds finished season with 1,905 passing yards and 17 touchdowns. He was named First team All Conference, and consensus Offensive Back of the year.

Senior season

As a senior, Bounds led the Lions to an 8–4–1 record and a second-place finish in the conference. He played through injuries and also battled classmate Mike Meador for snaps, however this did not prevent him from being first team all conference for a second straight season and notching All-American honors by Don Hansen's Football Gazette. The Lions qualified for the NCAA playoffs once more, once again defeating Grand Valley State in the first round before bowing out to the Gorillas of Pittsburg State again, a team the Lions had defeated earlier in the season. Bounds left Commerce as the all-time leader in passing yards with 5,955 yards (held record for 27 years) and total offense with 6,369 yards. He graduated from ETSU with a degree in Kinesiology & Sports Studies. He still holds records for total offense in a career and is second in career passing yards. Bounds was inducted into the school's athletics hall of fame in 2008.

Professional career

Bounds went undrafted. He played for the AFL's

during the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

seasons, starting in 1992. He was a player/coach for the Benicarlo Tifons of The Professional Football League from Spain in 1994. Bounds left the organization after being signed by the

of the CFL. He was released by the Pirates in June 1994.

Coaching career

* 1992–1993 - GA East Texas State – Quarterback Coach – * 1995 – Newman Smith HS – Quarterback Coach – * 1996–1997 – Marcus HS – Wide Receiver Coach – 1997 Texas 5A State Champions – * 1998 – Picayune Memorial HS(MS)- Quarterback Coach – * 1999–2000 – Gainesville HS – Offensive Coordinator – * 2001–2002 – Dallas W.T. White HS – Offensive Coordinator – * 2003 – Dallas Skyline HS – Offensive Coordinator – * 2004 – Newman Smith HS – Offensive Coordinator – * 2005–2006 – Newman Smith HS – Head Coach – * 2006–2019 – Took a break from coaching (until 2020) to start his own concrete construction companies – (California Construction (2016) and BMFB Concrete Contractors) * 2020 – 2022 –

Frisco Fighters The Frisco Fighters are an inactive professional Indoor American football, indoor football team based in Frisco, Texas. A member of the Indoor Football League, the Fighters play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team was set to partic ...

(IFL) Defense * 2024–present – Frisco Fighters (IFL) Offense In March 2023, Bounds was named the director of player personnel for the football team at

Texas A&M University–Commerce East Texas A&M University (ETAMU; formerly Texas A&M University–Commerce) is a public university in Commerce, Texas, United States. With an enrollment of over 12,000 students as of fall 2017, the university is the third-largest institution in ...

. He resigned in November 2023 to spend more time with his family.

Personal life

Bounds later became the owner of a construction company.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bounds, Bobby 1969 births Living people American football quarterbacks East Texas A&M Lions football players Cleveland Thunderbolts players Players of American football from Mississippi People from Picayune, Mississippi Indoor Football League coaches East Texas A&M Lions football coaches High school football coaches in Texas High school football coaches in Mississippi Coaches of American football from Texas Shreveport Pirates players Canadian football quarterbacks Players of American football from Dallas Players of Canadian football from Dallas