He was involved in one of the most famous plays in UK football history, and now he has his first job as a head football coach. Former Wildcat gret Craig Yeast has been named the Head Football Coach at Kentucky Wesleyan College. The announcement was made Monday by KWC Director of Athletics Rob Mallory. Yeast, a former National Football League player and All-Southeastern Conference wide receiver at the University of Kentucky, will serve as the program’s 17th head coach in 58 seasons of program history. He will be formally introduced to the community at a press conference on Wednesday in Rogers Hall on the campus of Kentucky Wesleyan at 2:00pm.
It was Yeast who caught the game winning touchdown pass from Tim Couch in overtime in 1997 as Kentucky upset the Alabama Crimson Tide at Commonwealth Stadium.
Yeast comes to Wesleyan after three years at Franklin College in Indiana where he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The Grizzlies produced the most prolific offense in NCAA Division III over the past three seasons. Yeast balanced the offense in 2018 as the Grizzlies averaged 225 rushing and 333 passing yards per game.
Yeast spent three years (2012-2014) as wide receivers coach at NCAA Division II Tiffin University (Ohio). Under Yeast’s guidance, the Dragons receiving corps finished the season with three receivers named to the 2012 All-GLIAC Team, four receivers with at least 40 receptions for the season, and amassed over 2,700 yards in a single season as a group. From 2014-2016, Yeast served as the Head Football Coach at Fremont Ross High School outside of Toledo, Ohio. In addition to his coaching duties, Yeast was also the school’s Special Education teacher.
Yeast was a wide receiver with the New York Jets in the NFL after being drafted in the fourth round of by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1999. Yeast also played four professional seasons with the Hamilton Tiger Cats (2003-2006) of the Canadian Football League.
He concluded his collegiate career with the most receptions (208) in SEC history and still ranks inside the conference’s all-time leaders in receiving yards (9th), catches (5th), and touchdowns (8th). Yeast still ranks as Kentucky’s all-time receiver with 208 catches, 2,899 receiving yards, and 28 touchdowns.
(Courtesy KWC Athletics)