Almost 22 years after helping the Gators to their first national championship, Ike Hilliard has finally graduated with a degree in criminal justice from the University of Florida, keeping a promise he made to his late mother.

“To be the first in my immediate family to graduate is a big deal,” Hilliard told Florida’s in-house writer Scott Carter this week. “To complete it, it’s gratifying. It’s great for the kids of mine to see and to have my wife backing me throughout the process and trying to get that done. It’s now a bit of relief that it’s over, and now we’ll move to the next chapter.”

There’s a reason this story may sound familiar. Due to the demands of Hilliard’s schedule as wide receivers coach with the Washington Redskins, he arranged to walk in UF’s August commencement, the subject of a profile by The Washington Post. December, however, is when the final coursework was completed for the degree. UF’s graduating ceremony is in The Swamp this weekend, but Hilliard is in Jacksonville getting ready for Washington’s next game.

The August visit to Gainesville required him to take a brief absence from training camp. Hilliard said he received support from the Redskins.

“It’s definitely a topic now,” Hilliard told Carter. “It was obviously shocking to a lot of the boys on the team when I had the opportunity to leave during training camp and go to walk. I got a standing ovation from everybody. I’ve had some very good conversations with a lot of players afterward. Hopefully my situation can be somewhat inspiring to a lot of the young men who have their opportunity to come out early and go back and get it done.”

Carter’s lengthy full feature on Hilliard is a fun read for Gators fans who still remember the “stop and pop” and want to catch up on Hilliard’s life as a coach in the NFL.