Ike Hilliard
Encyclopedia
Isaac Jason "Ike" Hilliard (born April 5, 1976) is a former American college and professional football
player who was a wide receiver
for twelve seasons in the National Football League
(NFL) during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college football
for the University of Florida
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the New York Giants
and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
of the NFL. After his playing career, Hilliard became the wide receivers coach
for the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League. He is currently the assistant wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins
.
in 1976. He attended Patterson High School
, where he was a star high school football
player for the Patterson Lumberjacks.
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 Championship
s 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 a 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 reception
s for 2,214 yards and twenty-nine touchdown
s. He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2009.
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 to . He became a regular starter
in , helping the Giants reach Super Bowl XXXV
following the regular season. He finished his career with the Giants with 368 receptions
for 4,630 yards and twenty-seven touchdowns.
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.
On January 25, 2011, Hilliard returned to the NFL as an assistant wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins
.
running back
Dalton Hilliard
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was a wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
for twelve seasons in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
of the NFL. After his playing career, Hilliard became the wide receivers coach
Wide receivers coach
A wide receivers coach is a coach in charge of the wide receivers in gridiron football. The wide receivers coach typically operates under a team's offensive coordinator. This coach also typically resides in the coach's box on gameday, often accompanied by or in place of the offensive coordinator....
for the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League. He is currently the assistant wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Early years
Hilliard was born in Patterson, LouisianaPatterson, Louisiana
Patterson is a small city in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,530 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
in 1976. He attended Patterson High School
Patterson High School (Louisiana)
Patterson High School is a high school found in the city of Patterson in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. For more information than this page provides, please visit the .-Athletics:...
, where he was a star high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
player for the Patterson Lumberjacks.
College career
Hilliard received an athletic scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he played wide receiver for coach Steve Spurrier
Steve Spurrier
Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach...
's Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team from 1994 to 1996
1996 Florida Gators football team
The 1996 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. This was the team's seventh season under head coach Steve Spurrier...
. During his three seasons as a Gator, the team won three SEC Championship
SEC Championship Game
The SEC Championship Game refers to the game determining the Southeastern Conference's football season champion. The championship game pits the SEC Western Division representative against the Eastern Division representative in a game held after the regular season has been completed. Thus far, nine...
s in 1994
1994 SEC Championship Game
The 1994 SEC Championship Game was won by the Florida Gators 24-23 over the Alabama Crimson Tide. The game was played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on December 3, 1994 and was televised to a national audience on ABC.-External links:*...
, 1995
1995 SEC Championship Game
The 1995 SEC Championship Game was won by the Florida Gators 34-3 over the Arkansas Razorbacks. The game was played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on December 2, 1995 and was televised to a national audience on ABC.-External links:*...
and 1996
1996 SEC Championship Game
The 1996 SEC Championship Game was won by the Florida Gators 45-30 over the Alabama Crimson Tide. The game was played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on December 7, 1996 and was televised to a national audience on ABC.-External links:**...
. As a junior
Junior (education)
"Junior" is a term used in the United States to describe a student in their 3rd year of study . A Junior is considered an upperclassman...
in 1996, he was paired with fellow Gators receiver Reidel Anthony
Reidel Anthony
Reidel Clarence Anthony is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League for five seasons in the 1990s and early 2000s...
and both posted 1,000-yard seasons, and both Hilliard and Anthony were recognized as first-team All-Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) selections and a consensus first-team All-Americans, as the Gators won the Bowl Alliance
Bowl Alliance
The Bowl Alliance was an agreement among college football bowl games for the purpose of trying to match the top two teams in a national championship bowl game and to provide quality bowl game matchups for the champions of its member conferences...
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
Florida State Seminoles football
The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University in college football. The Florida State Seminoles compete in NCAA Division I-FBS and are members of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
in the 1997 Sugar Bowl
1997 Sugar Bowl
The 1997 Sugar Bowl was the 63rd edition to the annual game. It featured the top ranked , and their heated rivals, the third ranked Florida Gators. It was the designated National Championship Game for the 1996-97 season by the Bowl Alliance. The match up was supposed to feature the top two teams...
. Memorably, he set three Sugar Bowl
Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...
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
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
after his junior season, and finished his college career with 126 reception
Reception (American football)
In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...
s for 2,214 yards and twenty-nine touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s. He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2009.
New York Giants
The New York GiantsNew York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
chose Hilliard in the first round (seventh pick overall) of the 1997 NFL Draft
1997 NFL Draft
The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997. No teams elected to claim any players in the supplemental draft that...
, and he played his first eight seasons for the Giants from to . He became a regular starter
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
in , helping the Giants reach Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV was played on January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 2000 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Baltimore Ravens defeated the National Football Conference champion New York...
following the regular season. He finished his career with the Giants with 368 receptions
Reception (American football)
In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...
for 4,630 yards and twenty-seven touchdowns.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Hilliard signed with the Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
after the 2004 season
2004 NFL season
The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
. During his first two seasons with Tampa, he was used mainly as a third or fourth receiver, but in 2007
2007 NFL season
The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
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
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Personal
Hilliard is the nephew of former New Orleans SaintsNew Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Dalton Hilliard
Dalton Hilliard
Dalton Hilliard is a former professional American football running back for the New Orleans Saints from 1986-1993. He played his entire NFL career for the Saints and was a Pro Bowl selection in 1989...
.
See also
- 1996 College Football All-America Team1996 College Football All-America TeamThe 1996 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following All-American Teams: Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, The Sporting News and Football News....
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Florida Gators football, 1990–1999
- History of the Tampa Bay BuccaneersHistory of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-John McKay and early frustration :The Buccaneers joined the NFL as members of the AFC West in 1976. The following year, they were moved to the NFC Central, while the other 1976 expansion team, the Seattle Seahawks, switched conferences with Tampa Bay and joined the AFC West...
- List of Florida Gators football players
- List of New York Giants players