By Jordan Mamorsky

In the testosterone driven world of NFL football Ike Hilliard is an anomaly. This 5’10”, 205-pound wide receiver for the New York Giants is tough. Undeterred by bone crushing hits, a determined Hilliard always gets up without complaint. He’s been taken from the field on a stretcher only to come back the next season even more motivated. With five surgeries in six years, life in the NFL hasn’t been easy for Hilliard but he’s endured, proving that he has what it takes to excel in the league. “After every injury I take the same approach,” says Hilliard. “Stay positive and turn it over to the higher power you believe in. As long as you are able to put the cleats on and the uniform on, you have to go out and compete.”

And while sportsmanship is rare in professional sports these days, Hilliard goes about the game the right way. Instead of seeking revenge against Philadelphia Eagles’ safety Brian Dawkins for a vicious hit during a Monday Night football game last season which sent Hilliard to the emergency room, Hilliard harbors no ill will. “ I wish it didn’t happen,” he said. “There are questionable things that happened during the play, but regardless of what you may say or how you may analyze the play, it’s not going to take back the injury. It’s just an ugly part of the game. It’s a brutal, physical and nasty game. But this is a sport where you have to go out and actually go to war to a certain degree.”

Hilliard is a natural talent, and after starring at Florida, has become one of the Giants’ biggest offensive weapons. Not a big weight lifter, Hilliard also stays clear of performance supplements and doesn’t do any special programs in the off-season. “Some guys go to yoga, some guys go to karate,” he said. “I don’t do anything particularly special to deal with my game. If you are a guy who knows what you are supposed to do regardless of how many yoga classes you take, you are still going to make the plays.”

And there is no denying that Ike Hilliard has made his share of plays over his seven seasons in New York. Every Giant fan can remember Hilliard majestically catching the first winning touchdown pass against the Vikings three years ago in the NFC championship game, or scoring the winning touchdown against Seattle two years ago, keeping the Giants’ playoff hopes alive.

What makes Hilliard great is his innate ability to find the open spaces in the defense. “I am not as tall as Amani [Toomer] or [Jeremy] Shockey or some of the bigger players that we have had here, but [quarterback] Kerry [Collins] and I have an ability to be on the same page more often than others working in tight quarters,” he said. “It’s a space issue and I can use my size to an advantage because there will be guys who can’t move with me, they aren’t able to adjust the way I am able to adjust.”

Hilliard’s primary goal for the upcoming season will be to stay healthy and to help the Giants get back to the Super Bowl. “We came up short in 2000,” he said. “We want to see what it tastes like on the winning side.” Despite the fact that Hilliard was not on the sidelines for the Giants’ unraveling in San Francisco, the taste of the nasty defeat has not evaded him. “It’s tough blowing a 24 point lead, on the road, in the playoffs after playing so well,” he said. “It was like two different parts of a game.”

Hilliard has made a living in the NFL going over the middle and taking hits from far bigger linebackers and safeties, but he has always maintained a positive attitude and has been the player you want to have in your locker room. He may not be the fastest player on the field or the most talented, but he definitely gets the job done and has proven that he’s a winner in football and life.