Craig Yeast
Encyclopedia
Craig Nelson Yeast was a Canadian Football League
wide receiver
and kick returner
for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
. Previously, he played in the National Football League
from 1999 through 2001. He is currently the head football coach at Bryan Station High School
in Lexington, KY.
and running back
for Harrodsburg High School
in Harrodsburg, Kentucky
.
Wildcats, 1995 - 1998. When he graduated, Yeast was the all-time leader in career receptions in the history of the Southeastern Conference
, with 208 catches, and was second in career receiving yards with 2,899. In 1998 he returned three kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns. As a senior he was a third team All-American according to College Football News
, and was also a consensus All-Southeastern Conference first-team selection and a semi-finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award
. Yeast was also a member of the Phi Beta Sigma
fraternity, (Mu Theta - University of Kentucky)
. He played for the Cincinnati Bengals
and the New York Jets
. His best NFL season came as a Bengal in 2000 when he caught 24 passes for 301 yards (12.5 average) and had one rushing attempt for 15 yards.
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
and kick returner
Kick returner
In American and Canadian football, a kick returner is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. If the ball is kicked into his own endzone, he must assess the situation on the field while the ball is in the...
for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
. Previously, he played in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
from 1999 through 2001. He is currently the head football coach at Bryan Station High School
Bryan Station High School
Bryan Station High School, founded in 1958, is a high school within the Fayette County Public Schools system in Lexington, Kentucky. During the 2006-2007 school year, students were moved to their newly built school known as Bryan Station High. The school was named for Bryan Station, a 18th century...
in Lexington, KY.
High school career
Yeast played quarterbackQuarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
and running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
for Harrodsburg High School
Mercer County Senior High School (Kentucky)
Mercer County Senior High School is a public secondary school located in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The school mascot is the Titan.-Establishment:...
in Harrodsburg, Kentucky
Harrodsburg, Kentucky
Harrodsburg is a city in and the county seat of Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,014 at the 2000 census. It is the oldest city in Kentucky.-History:...
.
College career
Yeast played four seasons for the University of KentuckyUniversity of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
Wildcats, 1995 - 1998. When he graduated, Yeast was the all-time leader in career receptions in the history of the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
, with 208 catches, and was second in career receiving yards with 2,899. In 1998 he returned three kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns. As a senior he was a third team All-American according to College Football News
College Football News
College Football News is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis includes comparisons between teams, predictions of game outcomes and...
, and was also a consensus All-Southeastern Conference first-team selection and a semi-finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award
Fred Biletnikoff Award
The Fred Biletnikoff Award has been presented since 1994 to America's top college football receiver by the TQC Foundation, Inc. , an independent not-for-profit organization which created the award in 1994 and has sponsored it since...
. Yeast was also a member of the Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...
fraternity, (Mu Theta - University of Kentucky)
NFL career
Yeast was the third pick of the fourth round in the 1999 NFL draft1999 NFL Draft
The 1999 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17-18, 1999...
. He played for the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
and the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. His best NFL season came as a Bengal in 2000 when he caught 24 passes for 301 yards (12.5 average) and had one rushing attempt for 15 yards.