Cincinnati Football: Bearcats assistant coaches recognized by On3 Recruiting

A trio of Cincinnati assistant coaches were recently recognized by On3 Recruiting, being named “rising stars that you need to know.” Passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach Mike Brown, do-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Colin Hitschler, and running backs coach Darren Paige appeared on the 65-person list.

Cincinnati Football: Bearcats assistant coaches recognized by On3 Recruiting

Brown has been with the program since 2019 as wide receivers coach and took over as passing game coordinator this offseason. Hitschler joined the Bearcats in 2018 before being promoted to safeties coach in 2020. After spending two years at Eastern Michigan, Paige is entering his second season as Bearcats running backs coach.

Cincinnati and Ole Miss were the only two schools with three assistant coaches on the list. There were seven others from the American Athletic Conference including Houston’s Doug Belk and David Rowe, Tulane’s Chris Hampton and Slade Nagle, Tulsa’s Calvin Lowry, and UCF’s Addison Williams and Travis Williams.

The entire list is available at On3 Recruiting.

Before getting hired by the Bearcats in 2019, Brown played wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2012-14 and later coached at Michigan, Delaware and his alma mater Liberty. Paige was also a receiver at Miami and Findlay prior to coaching stints with Eastern Michigan, Holy Cross, Kent State, Stony Brook and more.

Hitschler has helped take the defense to new heights alongside Luke Fickell and Mike Tressel. Cincinnati finished as the top ranked pass defense in the nation last year. Led by an elite coaching staff, the Bearcats will look to continue that success as next season starts on September 3 at Arkansas.