Joseph F. Yonto (August 2, 1925 – August 4, 2008) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach, serving most of his career at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. He served under three national championship coaches (

Ara Parseghian Ara Raoul Parseghian (; ; May 21, 1923 – August 2, 2017) was an American football coach and player who coached the University of Notre Dame to national championships in 1966 and 1973. He is noted for bringing Notre Dame's Fighting Irish footb ...

Dan Devine Daniel John Devine (December 23, 1924 – May 9, 2002) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the Universi ...

and

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former college football coach and television analyst. He served as the head football coach at the College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the N ...

) during his career. A native of

Orrville, Ohio Orrville is a city in Wayne County, Ohio, United States. It is about east of Wooster, Ohio, Wooster and southwest of Akron, Ohio, Akron. The population was 8,452 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Micropolitan stat ...

, Yonto played fullback as sophomore (1945) and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

as junior (1946) under coach

Frank Leahy Francis William Leahy (August 27, 1908 – June 21, 1973) was an American college football player and coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He served as the head football coach at Boston College from 1939 to ...

at Notre Dame. As a senior prior to his 1948 graduation, he served as an assistant freshman team coach after a leg injury ended his playing career. He went on to coach

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

for 16 years at numerous schools, including seven years at Notre Dame High School for Boys in

Niles, Illinois Niles is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located in the townships of Maine Township, Cook County, Illinois, Maine and Niles Township, Cook County, Illinois, Niles, directly neighboring Chicago's far northwest border. Per the 2 ...

. In 1964 he returned to the University of Notre Dame as defensive line coach under incoming head coach Parseghian, and held that role throughout Parseghian's 11 seasons, as well as six more (1975–80) under Devine, the last four as defensive coordinator. During that period, he was a part of three Notre Dame national championship staffs (1966, 1973 and 1977) and he coached a dozen All-America defensive linemen. That list included

Alan Page Alan Cedric Page (born August 7, 1945) is an American former Minnesota Supreme Court judge and professional American football, football player for the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. He was the NFL's MVP in 1971. He was awarded the Presid ...

, Kevin Hardy, Mike McCoy,

Walt Patulski Walter George Patulski (born February 3, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. High school Patulski ...

Mike Kadish Michael Scott Kadish (May 27, 1950 – March 19, 2023) was an American professional football player who was a defensive lineman for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills. He played college ...

, Mike Fanning,

Steve Niehaus Steve Niehaus (born September 25, 1954) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Niehaus ...

and

Ross Browner Ross Dean Browner (March 22, 1954 – January 4, 2022) was an American professional football defensive end who played for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL), mainly for the Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football for the N ...

—all of whom went on to be selected in the first round of the

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

. Browner won the Lombardi, Outland and

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

s, and Patulski also won the Lombardi. On 12 occasions, Yonto′s defensive line ranked among the top 10 teams in the country in terms of rushing defense. Eight of those Irish teams gave up less than 100 rushing yards per game, and the 1974 Notre Dame Fighting Irish ranked first nationally in both rushing defense and total defense (195.2 yards per game). During the

Gerry Faust Gerard Anthony Faust (May 21, 1935 – November 11, 2024) was an American high school football, high school and college football coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Notre Dame from 1981 to 1985 and at the University of Akron ...

years (1981–85), Yonto served as a special assistant to athletic director

Gene Corrigan Eugene Francis Corrigan (April 14, 1928 – January 25, 2020) was an American lacrosse player, coach of lacrosse and soccer, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head men's lacrosse coach at Washington and Lee University from 195 ...

while handling administrative duties in a wide variety of football areas. Then, he returned to serve as defensive line coach in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

and

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

under

. Yonto spent three more years as a special assistant to athletic director Dick Rosenthal from 1988 to 1991. After his retirement, Yonto represented the University and athletics department at a variety of events.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yonto, Joe 1925 births 2008 deaths American football fullbacks American football guards Coaches of American football from Ohio High school football coaches in Illinois Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players People from Orrville, Ohio Sportspeople from Wayne County, Ohio