Darren Paige enters his first season as the wide receivers coach at Stony Brook in 2018 after a one-year stint as the wide receivers coach at Holy Cross.
In 2017, Paige helped Blaise Bell earn Second Team All-Patriot League honors after the junior wide receiver led the Crusaders with 46 receptions for 601 yards and eight touchdowns. As a team, Holy Cross finished second in the Patriot League in Passing Offense as it averaged 254 passing yards per game.
Before joining the staff at Holy Cross, Paige spent the summer of 2017 with the Tennessee Titans as part of the Bill Walsh Minority Fellowship Program. From 2013-16, he served as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Midwestern State University in Texas. The Mustangs went 31-12 during Paige’s four years on the staff, while advancing to the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, Midwestern State earned the #1 seed in Region 4 after winning the Lone Star Conference Playoff. During Paige’s tenure, the Mustangs averaged at least 30 points and 400 yards of total offense each season. His players earned All-Lone Star Conference honors six times, including DeAndre Black who was named a Second Team All-American in 2016.
Prior to his time at Midwestern State, Paige served as an offensive graduate assistant coach at Kent State during the 2012 season, working with the wide receivers. He helped the Golden Flashes to an overall record of 11-3 and the 2012 Mid-American Conference East Division Championship. The team’s 11 wins and 10-game win streak were both program records. On an individual level, Dri Archer was named a First Team All-American as a kick returner and a Third Team All-American as an all-purpose player. Archer was selected in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Before arriving at Kent State, Paige coached the wide receivers at Gannon (Pa.) in 2011 and was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Haines City (Fla.) High School in 2009.
Paige earned his bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Findlay in 2008, and went on to receive a master’s degree in sports and recreation management from Kent State University in 2015. During his time at Findlay, he led the Oilers in receptions and receiving yards for three seasons, totaling 117 catches for 1,461 yards and eight touchdowns. He previously spent two seasons at Miami (Ohio), playing in seven games as a true freshman.
Following his graduation, Paige played two seasons for the Peoria Pirates of Arena Football League 2 in 2008 and 2009. He also earned an invitation to mini-camp with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League in 2009, and participated in training camp for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League in 2010. Paige and his wife, Amanda, have one son, Brandon “Zek” Paige, who was born in July 2018.
