Former Kentucky receiver Craig Yeast named new coach at Mercer County

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The Air Raid offense installed by Hal Mumme and Mike Leach at Kentucky has had many former players and assistants go on to be head coaches somewhere. Sonny Dykes (SMU), Dana Holgorsen (Houston), Neal Brown (West Virginia), Lincoln Riley (USC), Sonny Cumbie (Louisiana Tech), Josh Heupel (Tennessee), and Kliff Kingsbury (Arizona Cardinals) are just a few of the names making noise at the highest levels of both college and pro football.

At the high school level in Kentucky, former wide receiver Craig Yeast will be returning home to lead Harrodsburg (Ky.) Mercer County in 2022.

Great Day to be a Titan! pic.twitter.com/gTNEjHKHKN
— Mercer Co Athletics (@MercerCoTitans) February 15, 2022

Craig Yeast became Tim Couch’s favorite target in Mumme’s pass-heavy offense during his playing days, and the Kentucky native still leads the program in receptions (208), receiving yards (2,899), and receiving touchdowns (28). Yeast would be a fourth-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1999 NFL Draft and would record 34 receptions for 225 yards in 2000. However, Yeast was out of the league following the 2001 season and would spend a few years in the Canadian Football League. Then, the former star wideout would get into coaching.

After serving as an assistant coach at multiple schools, Yeast took the head coaching job at Lexington (Ky.) Bryan Station in 2011 and led the Defenders to a 7-5 season and a playoff appearance. After that, Yeast would move into college football serving as the wide receivers coach at Division II Tiffin (Ohio) University for three years. Yeast would then go back into high school football at Fremont (Ohio) High before becoming the offensive coordinator for Division III Franklin (Ind.) College. In 2019, Division II Kentucky Wesleyan hired Yeast to be the head coach of the Panthers, and he would spend three seasons in Owensboro.

Now Yeast is heading back to the high school ranks to lead the Mercer County Titans. The 3A program finished last season 9-3 with a loss to Louisville (Ky.) Christian Academy in the state playoffs. The high school was established in 2006 as Harrodsburg High joined forces with Mercer County High. Upon the merger, the Titans immediately won a state title in 2006 under head coach Marty Jaggers.

Yeast will look to bring the school back to prominence as the 45-year-old returns to his hometown.