Washington State Football: Ex-Mizzou OC David Yost Close to Joining Leach at WSU

November 17, 2012; Columbia, MO, USA; A Missouri Tigers banner is waved after the Missouri Tigers first touchdown against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at Faurot Field. The Syracuse Orange defeated the Missouri Tigers 31-27. Mandatory Credit: Dak Dillon-USA TODAY Sports

David Yost, the offensive and recruiting coordinator at Missouri over the past 12 seasons, could be close to a decision to come and coach with Mike Leach at Washington State. There is a “high probability” that Yost will accept an offer that Leach gave him after a recent interview in Key West, FL. The information was given by a source with knowledge of the situation.

In addition to being the OC and recruiting coordinator, Yost also handled the quarterbacks at Missouri and had been a valuable assistant to Gary Pinkel for 17 seasons, dating back to his days in Toledo. Possibly due to the strain of handling a full 3 positions, he stepped down this past Dec.

According to the Columbia Daily Tribune:

"The source said Yost would “have some say in the offense” and would likely be Leach’s top assistant in the coaching booth."

This would be one of those “Big-time” names that Bill Moos has been talking about and would be a huge boost to the Washington State Program. Missouri has long been an overachiever in the recruiting game since Pinkel and Yost arrived, when you consider their location and competition. Now that they are an SEC program, don’t expect the loss of Yost to hold them back from being as good or better in the recruiting arena. However it’s no overstatement to say that it could take at least 2 coaches to replace him.

Meanwhile for the Cougs, it’s not exactly clear what the full role of Yost might be. There is the inside receivers coaching vacancy left by Eric Morris, who headed to Texas Tech to apparently be the offensive coordinator for the Red Raiders as part of their new coaching staff. Morris was also the recruiting coordinator for WSU, so it would seem that Yost will be picking up at least that piece of the puzzle.

With Leach handling his own OC and QB coaching responsibilities, David Yost would have a much less stressful job description here. That’s important as the Columbia Trib also stated that it’s believed he and his family were having issues with the increasing stress of his handling too many positions. Hopefully this works out quickly, Yost would be a huge boost to the recruiting effort over the last couple weeks, mostly in just having filled the offensive side with a recognizable name who is considered a very good offensive mind in the spread passing game.

For the full article from the Missouri Daily Tribune, click here.

Go Cougs!