Former Kentucky football star C.J. Conrad leaves Wildcats for new coaching opportunity
A longtime favorite among University of Kentucky football fans is heading down I-75 toward the next stop in his budding coaching career.
Former Wildcats tight end C.J. Conrad was named Thursday as the tight ends coach for Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond.
Conrad joins the Colonels after spending the last three seasons in Lexington as a graduate assistant and quality control coach for the Wildcats. Conrad played for UK from 2015-18 and signed with the New York Giants practice squad following his UK career in 2019.
“I am so excited for this opportunity at EKU,” Conrad said in a news release. “I’ve learned so much during my time at Kentucky. … I’m eager to get to work.”
Conrad will work at EKU on the staff of another coach previously associated with UK.
Colonels head coach Walt Wells served as a quality control assistant for the Cats during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Wells is 17-14 in three seasons at EKU. The Colonels return several players this season from last year’s squad that reached the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
“I am excited to welcome C.J. and his wife, Katie, into our EKU football program,” Wells said. “I had the great fortune to watch C.J. play during my time at Kentucky. He is a highly motivated, intelligent young coach who has played the position and had great success. I am very excited about what he brings to our tight ends room.“
As a Wildcat, Conrad played in 48 career games with 42 starts, totaling 80 catches for 1,015 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. He became the 28th player in school history to reach 1,000 yards receiving and his 12 scores are the second-most TD receptions by a tight end in program history. He was an All-SEC selection as a junior and ended his career at No. 28 on the school’s career receiving yards list.
A native of LaGrange, Ohio, Conrad was named the winner of the 2018 Pop Warner National College Football Award, which recognizes a college graduating senior who has made a difference on the field, in the classroom and in his community, and serves as a role model to Pop Warner’s young student-athletes. He was also a member of the 2018 SEC Community Service Team and was a nominee for the 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and the Wuerffel Trophy.
The four-time member of the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll graduated in December 2018 with a degree in communications. He earned his master’s degree in sport leadership from UK in December 2022.
At EKU, Conrad replaces Kevin McKeethan, who left the Colonels to become offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Carson-Newman.
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