Former NFL player and record-breaking college standout Ryan Yurachek was hired as the Mountaineers' tight ends coach in December 2024.
 
Yurachek arrived in Boone after two seasons on staff with Dowell Loggains at South Carolina. Yurachek also coached at Austin Peay and Arkansas following his playing career in the NFL and at Marshall University.
 
Yurachek spent the 2023 season as an offensive analyst for the Gamecocks and was the assistant tight ends coach in 2024, helping the team ascend to a top-15 national ranking. He mentored tight end Joshua Simon, who led the Gamecocks during the regular season in receptions (34), receiving yards (450) and touchdown catches (six) while helping South Carolina boast the SEC's third-best rushing attack.
 
He served the 2022 season as the tight ends coach at Austin Peay, where the Governors were crowned ASUN Champions.
 
Yurachek spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons on the Arkansas football staff – including the 2021 season alongside Loggains – as a graduate assistant working primarily with the offensive line.
  
A native of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Yurachek was a three-year starter and captain as a tight end at Marshall. Playing in 51 games, he compiled 143 receptions, 1,354 receiving yards and 26 receiving touchdowns and was a four-time All-CUSA performer. He holds the Thundering Herd record for consecutive games with a reception (42).
 
A 2018 undrafted free agent, Yurachek logged brief NFL stints as a fullback with the Saints, Raiders and Cowboys.
 
Yurachek earned a bachelor's degree in marketing and management from Marshall in 2017 and a master's in adult education from Arkansas in 2021. 
 
Ryan is the son of Arkansas Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek. His brother Jake, who was a four-year letterwinner as a linebacker for the Razorbacks, is an assistant director of athletics at SMU. 
 
Ryan and his wife, Morgan, have one son, Trace. 
 
YURACHEK AT A GLANCE
 
Coaching Experience
2020-21: Arkansas (Graduate assistant)
2022: Austin Peay (Tight ends)
2023: South Carolina (Offensive analyst)
2024: South Carolina (Assistant tight ends)
2025: App State (Tight ends)
 
Playing Experience
2014-17: Marshall (Tight end)
 
Alma Mater: Marshall, 2017
Hometown: Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Wife: Morgan
Son: Trace
X: @CoachYurachek