Damarius Bilbo (born ) is an American sports agent and former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player. He played college football at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and wide receiver.

High school

Bilbo attended Moss Point High School and was a three year letterman and All-American in

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. In football, he was named the Dick Butkus Football Network National High School Player of the Year (after beating out

Cedric Benson Cedric Myron Benson (December 28, 1982 – August 17, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and was recognized as a co ...

, formerly of the Cincinnati Bengals), Mississippi Player of the Year by

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, Virgi ...

and Gatorade. Seen by most sports writers as the best "true quarterback" in the state of Mississippi since

Steve McNair Stephen LaTreal McNair (February 14, 1973 – July 4, 2009),Steve McNair Found Dead
...

and

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 201 ...

. In

, he garnered ALL-American honors and was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2001

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

drafted as a pitcher and center field after being clocked with a 96 mph fastball.

College football

He had a medical redshirt in 2001 (broken thumb) after what looked to be a promising freshman year, and played backup quarterback in 2002. Bilbo did see extensive playing time in the second half of the Silicon Valley Football Classic (bowl) in relief of starter A.J. Suggs. He contended for the starting job during fall camp in 2003 was moved from the position by Coach

Chan Gailey Thomas Chandler Gailey Jr. (born January 5, 1952) is a former American football coach. Most recently in 2020, he was the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Gailey has previously served as the hea ...

after what Gailey called "a great spring." Eventually 4yr starter

Reggie Ball Reginald Lewis Ball (born October 6, 1984) is a former American football quarterback. He was originally signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Georgia Tech. Early years Ball played his high ...

moved into the position. Bilbo was later relegated to wide receiver, leaving school that same summer to play baseball, but later returned and found success at that position, starting all 12 games his senior season opposite

Calvin Johnson Calvin Johnson Jr., (born September 29, 1985) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons with the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Georgia Tech, where he twice ...

making them one of the top receiving duos in college football. He was invited to the

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first st ...

all-star game in Hawaii. Bilbo graduated in 2005 with a degree in

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a Government agency, government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includ ...

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...

and industrial design.

Professional career

Bilbo was undrafted in the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with add ...

, but was signed as a

free-agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the Arizona Cardinals. He was released by the Cardinals in preseason, but immediately signed by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

. He was cut from the active roster but signed to the practice squad. He helped the Cowboys prepare for their week 4 meeting with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

by simulating

Vince Young Vincent Paul Young Jr. (born May 18, 1983) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. Young was drafted by the Tennessee Titans as the third overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, and ...

in practice and also

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's firs ...

and Donovan McNabb respectively. He was cut from the squad in mid-October in favor of ex- Seattle Seahawks Jerheme Urban after injuring the finger on his throwing hand. He was re-signed to the Cowboys in November and coach

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 1983 ...

called him "a very promising player" and had plans of moving him to

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

because of his athletic ability and smarts.

Post-playing career

After his playing career ended, Bilbo became an agent by representing

Jarvis Landry Jarvis Charles Landry (born November 28, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the second round ...

Melvin Gordon Melvin Gordon III (born April 13, 1993) is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin, and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first round ...

and

Alvin Kamara Alvin Mentian Kamara (born July 25, 1995) is an American football running back for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee after transferring from Hutchinson Community College and wa ...

. In 2019,

Rich Paul Rich Paul (born December 16, 1981) is an American sports agent based in Cleveland, Ohio. He founded Klutch Sports Group which represents a number of prominent NBA players. Paul was named by ''Forbes'' as one of the world's most powerful sports ...

of Klutch Sports Group hired Bilbo, expanding the company's clientele into NFL sports.

References

External links

Georgia Tech profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilbo, Damarius 1982 births Living people People from Moss Point, Mississippi American football wide receivers Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players American sports agents