Jalen Burbage enters his first season as the Director of Recruiting Strategy for football at the University of Cincinnati, joining the Bearcats following a two-year stint as an assistant wide receivers coach at Eastern Kentucky during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Prior to transitioning into coaching and administrative roles, Burbage concluded his collegiate playing career at EKU in 2023. That season, he earned UAC All-Academic Team honors after appearing in all 11 games with six starts, hauling in a career-high 33 receptions for 403 yards and four touchdowns. He closed his final campaign on a high note, scoring a touchdown in each of the Colonels' last three games and racking up a season-high 90 receiving yards against Gardner-Webb.
Before his time at EKU, Burbage spent four seasons at Lehigh (2019–2022), where he developed into a dual-threat asset as a receiver and top kickoff returner while repeatedly earning Patriot League Academic Honor Roll recognition.
His breakout year came as a senior in 2022, earning Academic All-Patriot League honors after recording 106 receiving yards and a touchdown in the season opener at Villanova and returning an opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown against Fordham. He finished as Lehigh's third-leading receiver while averaging nearly 22 yards per kickoff return. In 2021, he established himself as the team's primary returner, averaging 23.1 yards per return while ranking second on the squad in receiving yards. Across his five-year collegiate career, he played in 31 games between Lehigh and EKU.
A Lexington, Kentucky native, Burbage was a standout dual-threat quarterback at Bryan Station High School, earning First Team All-City and Honorable Mention All-State honors while throwing for over 4,600 yards and rushing for more than 2,500 yards. He also competed in basketball and track.
Burbage is the son of Cornell and Alicia Burbage. His father, Cornell, played football at Kentucky before spending three seasons in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. He has two brothers, Jeremiah and Cornell II
Jalen Burbage
Director of Recruiting Strategy