He served under three national championship coaches (Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz) during his career.
A native of Orrville, Ohio, Yonto played fullback as sophomore (1945) and guard as junior (1946) under coach Frank Leahy at Notre Dame.
[1] As a senior prior to his 1948 graduation, he served as an assistant freshman team coach after a leg injury ended his playing career.
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.
During the Gerry Faust years (1981–85), Yonto served as a special assistant to athletic director Gene Corrigan while handling administrative duties in a wide variety of football areas.