Scott Yielding, who holds two degrees from The Citadel, is in his second season serving as the program’s recruiting coordinator and coaching the defensive line.
Yielding helped lead The Citadel to a number of achievements in 2016. The Bulldogs earned a program-record 10-game winning streak, a single-season school-record six road victories, only the seventh 8-0 conference record in 84 years of SoCon football, a second consecutive conference championship, a No. 6 national seed in the FCS Playoffs and the first home playoff game in 24 years.
The Bulldogs ranked seventh in FCS in pass defense and eighth in the country in total defense, improving by more than 50 yards from the previous season to allow only 302.7 yards of total offense per game. The Bulldogs also ranked first in the Southern Conference with 30 touchdowns allowed in 12 games, an average of 2.5 per game, and were second in the SoCon with 28 sacks, tied for the third-highest single-season total in school history.
The Citadel’s defensive line was a disruptive force up front, led by first-team All-Southern Conference performer and second-team Academic All-American Joe Crochet. Crochet, the first Bulldog since 1976-78 to be recognized as an Academic All-American in consecutive seasons, ranked in the top 10 in the SoCon in fumble recoveries, forced fumbles and tackles for loss. His two fumble recoveries tied for 24th in FCS, and his 11.0 tackles for loss against Southern Conference opponents ranked second in the conference.
Yielding also coached second-team All-SoCon selection Ken Allen. Allen’s sophomore campaign was highlighted by 43 tackles, including 10.0 for loss with 4.0 sacks, and three quarterback hurries. All four of his sacks came in conference play, a number that tied for fourth in the SoCon. Jonathan King collected 7.0 of his 9.5 tackles for loss against conference foes to tie for ninth on that list. Collectively, the defensive line recorded 24.5 sacks, 88 percent of the team’s 28 sacks for the season, and 49 tackles for loss, 56 percent of the team’s season total.
Yielding returned to The Citadel, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in history in 1993 and a master’s degree in secondary education in 1998, prior to the 2016 season. He served as tight ends coach and academic coordinator for the Bulldogs during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. During his time as a graduate student, Yielding worked in The Citadel office of admissions and served as the NCAA and academic liaison to the football program.
Yielding came to Charleston from the University of Illinois, where he spent the previous two seasons as director of player personnel. His responsibilities for the Illini included managing recruiting efforts and coordinating the walk-on program.
Before coaching at The Citadel, Yielding was at Oklahoma State as assistant director of football operations and assistant director of recruiting from 2008-11. His duties included recruiting as well as coordinating and selecting walk-ons for the Cowboys’ roster. With Yielding on staff, the Cowboys were recognized as producing some of the nation’s finest recruiting classes.
During his time in Stillwater, Oklahoma State posted a record of 41-11, including a 23-3 mark over the final two seasons. In 2011, the Cowboys won the Big 12 championship and defeated Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl to finish with a 12-1 record and ranked No. 3 in the final polls. The previous season, Oklahoma State finished ranked 10th in the country, won a Big 12 South co-championship and defeated Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.
Prior to his stint at Oklahoma State, Yielding spent 10 years coaching at the high school level, beginning at North Charleston High School from 1998-2000. He also coached four different schools in Georgia before joining the collegiate ranks.
An Atlanta native, Yielding and his wife, Valerie, have two daughters, Georgia Lee and Savannah.
