QB BRANCH: BRUNE FAMILY TREE RUNS THROUGH INDIAN FOOTBALL

It probably should come as no surprise that Bobby Brune looked so comfortable when he was thrust into the role of Southeast Missouri State University's No. 1 quarterback about halfway into his redshirt freshman season last year.

After all, Brune has practically been raised on Southeast football, with two older brothers, his father and grandfather all having played for the Indians.

"I've been around the program for a while," said a smiling Brune. "I can remember my dad occasionally throwing out some old black and white game film and showing it to me."

Greg Brune, Bobby's father, is Southeast's director of athletic development. He quarterbacked the Indians from 1965-67, passing for more than 4,000 yards during that time.

Charles Brune, Bobby's grandfather, played for the Indians from 1940-41.

And Bobby's older brothers both were on the Southeast squad, Brent from 1989-93 and Brian from 1991-95.

"Bobby definitely has good blood lines for Southeast football," said Indians' head coach John Mumford with a laugh.

The youngest Brune to play football for the Indians put those blood lines to use during his first collegiate season last year.

He came off the bench in week five to engineer a near upset of Eastern Illinois and became the starter the rest of the season. The Cape Girardeau Central High School graduate wound up completing better than 62 percent of his passes for 1,167 yards and six touchdowns.

Brune's yardage total during his rookie season marked the most passing yards by a Southeast freshman since another Brune -- Brian's uncle Lance -- threw for 1,273 yards in 1970.

"Bobby did very well for a redshirt freshman last year," Mumford said. "He really showed a lot of poise and confidence for a young quarterback."

Brune said he wasn't really all that nervous when he was thrown into the fire last season. He was simply happy for the opportunity.

"I couldn't wait to get thrown in there last year," he said. "It was great I had a chance to get a year of experience and I want to put that to use. I feel like I'm ready to step in where I left off."

Although Mumford also is high on his other two quarterbacks -- returning backup Mike Gross of Jackson and exciting transfer Rashad West -- Brune figures to enter the season as the Indians' starter behind center.

"Bobby looks so much better this year. He's really developing into a leader for us," said Mumford. "But you can't count out guys like Mike Gross and Rashad West. They could definitely be in the picture."

Even though Brune had an impressive rookie season for the Indians, it didn't result in many victories as Southeast went only 3-8. But he's looking for better things this year.

"We're excited about the season," he said. "We put in a lot of hard work over the summer and this is really a cohesive bunch.

"I think this team has lots of potential. It's just time to get the results."