Ike Hilliard

Ike Hilliard
Washington Redskins
Position: Wide receivers coach
Personal information
Born: (1976-04-05) April 5, 1976
Patterson, Louisiana
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school: Patterson (LA)
College: Florida
NFL Draft: 1997 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7
Career history
As player:
As coach:
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 161
Games started: 105
Receptions: 546
Receiving yards: 6,397
Touchdowns: 35
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Isaac Jason Hilliard (born April 5, 1976), is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). 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 coach, and is currently the wide receivers coach for the NFL's Washington Redskins.

Early years

Hilliard was born in Patterson, Louisiana in 1976.[1] He attended Patterson High School,[2] where he was a star high school football player for the Patterson Lumberjacks.

College career

Hilliard accepted 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.[3] 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,[3][4] 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.[5] 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.[3]

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.[3] In a 2006 series published by The Gainesville Sun, he was recognized as No. 14 among the 100 all-time greatest Gator players from the first century of Florida football.[6] He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2009.[7][8]

Professional career

New York Giants

The New York Giants chose Hilliard in the first round (seventh pick overall) of the 1997 NFL Draft,[9] and he played his first eight seasons for the Giants from 1997 to 2004.[10] He became a regular starter in 1998,[10] 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.[1]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Hilliard signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2004 season. During his first two seasons with Tampa Bay, he was used mainly as a third or fourth receiver, but in 2007 he started ten games making sixty-two receptions for 722 yards.[10] Hilliard was released by the Buccaneers on February 25, 2009.[11] Hilliard finished his NFL career with 546 catches for 6,397 yards and thirty-five touchdowns.[10]

In his twelve-season NFL career, Hilliard appeared in 161 regular season games, started 105 of them, and made 546 catches for 6,397 yards and thirty-five touchdowns.[1] He also had 126 rushing yards on sixteen attempts.[1]

NFL statistics

Receiving statistics[12]

YearTeamGamesReceptionsYardsYards per ReceptionLongest ReceptionTouchdownsFirst DownsFumblesFumbles Lost
1997NYG224221.0230200
1998NYG165171514.05022922
1999NYG167299613.84635000
2000NYG145578714.35984400
2001NYG145265912.73863600
2002NYG72738614.33822100
2003NYG136060810.13863822
2004NYG16494378.94302231
2005TB16352828.12212400
2006TB163433910.04421900
2007TB156272211.65613722
2008TB16474249.03643111
Career1615466,39711.75935353108

Returning statistics[12]

YearTeamGamesPunt Return AttemptsYardsTouchdownsFair CatchLongest Punt Return
2004NYG164260015
2006TB16241630316
2007TB1515920420
2008TB163190711
Career634630001420

Coaching career

Forced to retire after a neck injury, Hilliard became a volunteer receivers coach for the UFL's Florida Tuskers in 2009. In 2010, he became the Tuskers' new wide receivers coach for the coming season.

In 2011, Hilliard returned to the NFL as an assistant wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins, followed by the Washington Redskins in 2012, and the Buffalo Bills in 2013. He was named the wide receivers coach of the Washington Redskins of the NFL for the second time in January 2014.

Personal life

Hilliard is the nephew of former New Orleans Saints running back Dalton Hilliard.He has one son, aged 11, who resides in Tampa FL.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Ike Hilliard. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  2. ↑ databaseFootball.com, Players, Ike Hilliard Archived 2010-09-19 at the Wayback Machine.. Retrieved June 3, 2010
  3. 1 2 3 4 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2012-04-02 at the Wayback Machine., University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 76, 77–79, 85, 88, 93, 97, 127, 143–145, 147–148, 152, 162, 168–169, 174, 182 (2011). Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  4. ↑ 2012 NCAA Football Records Book, Award Winners, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, pp. 10 & 14 (2012). Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  5. ↑ College Football Data Warehouse, Steve Spurrier Records by Year, 1996 Archived 2012-03-10 at the Wayback Machine.. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  6. ↑ Robbie Andreu & Pat Dooley, "No. 14 Ike Hilliard," The Gainesville Sun (August 20, 2006). Retrieved March 31, 2013.
  7. ↑ F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Eight 2009 Honorees Inducted Into UF Athletic Hall of Fame," GatorZone.com (April 17, 2009). Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  9. ↑ Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History, 1997 National Football League Draft. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 4 National Football League, Historical Players, Ike Hilliard. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Bucs Release Derrick Brooks, 4 Others," Yahoo Sports (February 25, 2009). Retrieved February 25, 2009.
  12. 1 2 "Ike Hilliard Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 13 March 2014.

Bibliography

  • Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3.
  • 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 1-57167-196-X.
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