Has come a long way since starting his Tech career as a defensive end ... Enters his senior season as one of the nation's top wide receivers ... Is coming off a record-setting junior season ... Finished the 2002 season with a school record 51 pass receptions ... Set school and BIG EAST Conference single-game marks with 279 yards receiving against Syracuse ... Also set a Tech record for touchdown receptions in that game with four ... Worked hard to fine-tune his game during the spring ... Took on a more vocal leadership role ... Has the potential to become a more dangerous receiver with a good summer preparation ... Provides the Hokies with a big target with good leaping ability and speed ... Can catch the football in a crowd ... Must continue to concentrate on being consistent ... Combines a great work ethic with a desire to succeed ... Has taken advantage of the Hokies' strength and conditioning program ... Finished third in the BIG EAST last year in receiving yards with 925 - an average of 66.1 per game ... Had the fourth-most total receptions in the league and ranked seventh in receptions per game (3.64) ... Started every game and earned second-team All-BIG EAST honors ... Found himself starting Tech's last four games at flanker in 2000 after André Davis developed ankle problems ... Gained some valuable on-the-job experience ... Saw action on 176 offensive snaps during Tech's first seven games in 2000 and 213 during the last four ... Finished third on the team in receptions with 12 ... Battled a nagging knee injury during the early part of the 2001 season ... Never really developed consistency ... Selected a 2003 preseason All-BIG East receiver by Athlon Sports magazine ... Can expect to see added attention from opposing defenses ... Has worked hard to prepare for the challenge ...
2003: Leads the team with 41 receptions for 680 yards and three
touchdowns ... Caught a career-high nine passes in the opener against UCF
... Had 96 receiving yards ... Caught four passes for 58 yards against James
Madison ... Had just one catch against Texas A&M, but it came on fourth down
and produced an 11-yard gain ... Caught four passes for 59 yards, including a
spectacular 28-yard touchdown reception, against UConn ... Had four receptions
for 66 yards, including a 35-yarder, at Rutgers ... Had two receptions for 27
yards against Syracuse ... Caught four passes for 58 yards, including a
34-yarder, at West Virginia ... Had just one catch against No. 2 Miami, but it
was a 46-yard touchdown ... Eclipsed the 100-yard plateau at Pittsburgh,
catching five passes for 101 yards ... Hauled in four passes for 73 yards,
including a 28-yard touchdown ... Caught three passes for 85 yards, including
a 52-yarder to set up a late touchdown, against Boston College ...
2001: Met all six of his goals in the weight room in preseason testing ... Had eight receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown in 11 games ... Saw action on nine special teams plays against Connecticut ... Played a season-high 28 offensive snaps at Rutgers, catching two passes for 28 yards ... Had two catches for 23 yards against Syracuse ... Caught a 7-yard pass at Pittsburgh ... Recorded his first career touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Temple game on a 34-yard reception ... Started Tech's Gator Bowl game against Florida State ... Had a touchdown catch nullified by a penalty in that contest ... Earned Super Iron Hokie honors in both preseason and spring testing ... Ran a 4.43 40-yard dash during the spring ... Caught two passes for 25 yards during Tech's first spring scrimmage ... Had two catches for 33 yards in the second scrimmage and three grabs for 45 yards in the final full scrimmage ... Hauled in two passes for 44 yards in the Maroon-White game ...
2000: Was one of just four players to meet all six goals during preseason strength and conditioning tests ... Led the receivers with a 500-pound back squat ... Played in every game, averaging 35 snaps ... Saw some brief action on special teams during the first half of the season ... His first collegiate reception was an 11-yard catch at East Carolina ... Grabbed three passes for 35 yards in the Rutgers game ... Moved into the starting lineup against Pittsburgh and played 72 offensive snaps ... Caught two passes for 25 yards in that game ... Added two more receptions at Miami for 21 yards ... Also had two catches in the Virginia game for a total of 33 yards ... Had 12 catches for 141 yards during the regular season ... Posted a 9-yard reception during the Gator Bowl ... Underwent surgery in early February for tendonitis in his right knee ... Sat out all spring contact work ...
1999: Registered the best vertical jump among the incoming freshmen with a leap of 37 inches ... Began his redshirt year working at defensive end ... Asked to be moved to wide receiver in September ... Spent the rest of the school year at flanker ... Finished first in the triple jump and third in the high jump at the A-10 Indoor Track Championships ... Earned Iron Hokie honors during the spring ... Bench pressed 310 pounds and posted a back squat of 450 pounds ... Suffered an ankle injury during the early stages of spring practice and did not take part in contact work for the remainder of the spring ... Was held out of the annual Maroon-White game ... Bounced back from his injury to set a meet record in winning the A-10 outdoor triple jump title ...
Prep School: Saw action at split end and tight end for Coach John Shuman at Fork Union Military Academy ... Also got a look at defensive end ... Caught 25 passes for 297 yards and seven touchdowns during the 1998 season ...
High School: Grabbed 15 passes for 247 yards and three TDs his senior year at Franklin Military High, where he played wide receiver for Coach Otis Brayboy ... Contributed four sacks on defense ... Earned all-state honors in track and was named to the All-National team ... Posted a school-record triple jump of 49 feet, 9 inches ... Also had a 23-6 long jump and high jumped 6 feet, 8 inches ...
Personal: Ernest Lee Wilford, Jr. ... Born 1/14/79 in Richmond, VA ... Son of Ernest, Sr., and Janice Wilford ... Enrolled in sociology.
Receiving | G | No. | Yds. | Avg. | TD | LG |
|
2000 | 10 | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 0 | 21 |
|
2001 | 11 | 2 | 38 | 19.0 | 1 | 31 |
|
2002 | 14 | 7 | 168 | 24.0 | 1 | 87 |
|
2003 |
12 |
47 |
776 |
16.5 | 3 |
52 |
|
Career |
48 |
118 |
1942 |
16.5 | 11 |
87 |
|
2003 Receiving Game-by-Game | |
|
UCF |
|
9 |
96 |
10.7 |
0 |
21 |
|
James Madison |
|
4 |
58 |
14.5 |
0 |
25 |
|
Texas A&M |
|
1 |
11 |
11.0 |
0 |
11 |
|
Connecticut |
|
4 |
59 |
14.8 |
1 |
28 |
|
Rutgers |
|
4 |
66 |
16.5 |
0 |
35 |
|
Syracuse |
|
2 |
27 |
13.5 |
0 |
22 |
|
West Virginia |
|
4 |
58 |
14.5 |
0 |
34 |
|
Miami |
|
1 |
46 |
46.0 |
1 |
46 |
|
Pittsburgh |
|
5 |
101 |
20.2 |
0 |
46 |
|
Temple |
|
4 |
73 |
18.2 |
1 |
28 |
|
Boston College |
|
3 |
85 |
28.3 |
0 |
52 |
|
Virginia |
|
6 |
96 |
16.0 |
0 |
23 |
|