Ike Hilliard

Ike Hilliard

No. 19, 88     Washington Redskins
Wide receivers coach Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: April 5, 1976 (1976-04-05)
Place of birth: Patterson, Louisiana
High School: Patterson High School
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
College: Florida
NFL Draft: 1997 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7
Debuted in 1997 for the New York Giants
Last played in 2008 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Career history
As player: New York Giants (1997–2004) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2005–2008)
As coach: Florida Tuskers (2009–2010) (Wide receivers coach) Miami Dolphins (2011) (Assistant wide receivers coach) Washington Redskins (2012–present) (Wide receivers coach)
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-SEC (1996) Consensus All-American (1996) SEC Championship (1994, 1995, 1996) Bowl Alliance National Championship (1996) University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame
Career NFL statistics as of 2008
Games played	161
Games started	105
Receptions	546
Receiving Yards	6,397
Touchdowns	35
Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com

Isaac Jason "Ike" Hilliard (born April 5, 1976) is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college football for the University of Florida, and earned All-American honors. He was a first-round pick in the 1997 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the New York Giants and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. After his playing career, Hilliard became a professional football coach, and is currently the wide receivers coach for the NFL's Washington Redskins.

Early years

Hilliard was born in Patterson, Louisiana in 1976. He attended Patterson High School, where he was a star high school football player for the Patterson Lumberjacks.

College career

Hilliard received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played wide receiver for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1994 to 1996. During his three seasons as a Gator, the team won three SEC Championships in 1994, 1995 and 1996. As a junior in 1996, he was paired with fellow Gators receiver Reidel Anthony and both posted 1,000-yard seasons, and both Hilliard and Anthony were recognized as first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selections and consensus first-team All-Americans, as the Gators won the Bowl Alliance national championship—their first-ever national football title. The Gators finished the season with a record of 12–1 after a 52–20 victory over the top-ranked Florida State Seminoles in the 1997 Sugar Bowl. Memorably, he set three Sugar Bowl records against the Seminoles: he had 150 receiving yards, including an 82-yard touchdown catch, and scored a total of three touchdowns for eighteen points.

Hilliard declared himself eligible for the NFL Draft after his junior season, and finished his college career with 126 receptions for 2,214 yards and twenty-nine touchdowns. He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2009.

Professional career

New York Giants

The New York Giants chose Hilliard in the first round (seventh pick overall) of the 1997 NFL Draft, and he played his first eight seasons for the Giants from 1997 to 2004. He became a regular starter in 1998, helping the Giants reach Super Bowl XXXV following the 2000 regular season. He finished his career with the Giants with 368 receptions for 4,630 yards and twenty-seven touchdowns.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Hilliard signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2004 season. During his first two seasons with Tampa, he was used mainly as a third or fourth receiver, but in 2007 he started ten games making sixty-two receptions for 722 yards. Hilliard was released by the Buccaneers on February 25, 2009. Hilliard finished his NFL career with 546 catches for 6,397 yards and thirty-five touchdowns.

In his twelve-season NFL career, Hilliard appeared in 161 regular season games, started 105 of them, and made 546 catches for 6,396 yards and thirty-five touchdowns. He also had 126 rushing yards on sixteen attempts.

Coaching career

Forced to retire after a neck injury, Hilliard became a volunteer receivers coach for the UFL's Florida Tuskers in 2009. On May 26, 2010, it was announced that Hilliard will become the Tuskers' new wide receivers coach for the coming season.

On January 25, 2011, Hilliard returned to the NFL as an assistant wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins.

On January 23, 2012 Ike Hilliard was named the WR's coach of the Washington Redskins of the NFL.

Personal

Hilliard is the nephew of former New Orleans Saints running back Dalton Hilliard.

See also

• 1996 College Football All-America Team
• Florida Gators
• Florida Gators football, 1990–1999
• History of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• List of Florida Gators football players
• List of New York Giants players

Bibliography

• Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0794822983.
• Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
• Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.
• McCarthy, Kevin M., Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football, Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). ISBN 978-0-7385-0559-6.
• Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). ISBN 1-57167-196x.

External links

• ESPN Profile