Florida football: Could Ike Hilliard return to the Gators as a coach?

Florida football is still searching for their new wide receiver coach with their departure of Keary Colbert to the NFL. We’ve already talked about Jeff Scott’s potential fit in Gainesville, so now let’s take a look at another name in the running.

Former Gator WR Ike Hilliard could potentially make his return to Gainesville to be UF’s new wideout coach.

For those who watched him during his days at UF, I don’t need to remind you how much of a game-changer he was. But for the younger Gator fans like myself, here’s a recap of Ike’s dominance.

Over his career, he caught a total of 126 passes for 2,214 yards, including a 1,000-yard season in 1995. He also caught 29 touchdowns over his three years, 15 of which came in his sensational ’95 season.

As a coach, he’s been around a lot of different organizations. He was in the NFL as a receiver coach from 2011-2021, with the Dolphins, the then-called Redskins, the Bills, and the Steelers.

His latest stop was with the Auburn Tigers, where he was also the wide receiver coach and interim Co-OC last season.

Now, we may see Ike make his return to Gainesville and take on the familiar role of wide receiver coach for the Gators. Hilliard would be a great fit for Florida for a few reasons.

The first is his obvious ties to the university, and the respect that his name holds on campus. For recruits that are coming in, seeing a legendary receiver and respected WR coach at his alma mater can be very attractive as they make their decisions.

We also know that Ike can do this job at a high level. You don’t make it a decade in the NFL if you aren’t doing your job incredibly well.

The Gators could benefit a lot from having Ike on the staff. Florida hasn’t had an elite receiver with NFL abilities since Kadarius Toney left a few years ago, and Hilliard could come in and re-establish the culture of elite wideouts in the orange and blue.

Keep up with Florida football at Hail Florida Hail.