The young Nebraska Cornhuskers fan who inspired millions with his touchdown run for the team in 2013 has lost his battle with cancer. He was only 19 when he died.
Hoffman, who became the darling of football fans when he donned a specially made Cornhuskers uniform and ran for a touchdown during a 2013 spring game, died at his home in Atkinson, Nebraska, on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.
The young man was diagnosed with cancer back in 2011 when he was only five years old. His father, Andy, died of brain cancer at 42 in 2021.
This is heartbreaking
— Will Compton (@_willcompton) January 15, 2025
My heart goes out to the Hoffman family and everyone involved with the @teamjack foundation that have been fighting their asses off to raise money for pediatric brain cancer - all from the inspiration of Jack Hoffman
Rest in peace to a Husker legend 🙏🏻 https://t.co/rHVybXxAGK pic.twitter.com/tg6adbSrS2
As a child, Jack made friends with Cornhuskers running back and then future NFL player Rex Burkhead and that friendship soon extended to the entire team. That friendship especially manifested when the team invited the boy to run a play wearing a scaled-down Burkhead uniform. Jack bounded out onto the field in the fourth quarter, took a handoff from Taylor Martinez, and then ran 69 yards to the end zone for a touchdown.
We will never forget Jack Hoffman.
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 16, 2025
The young cancer patient who inspired so many with his TD run in the 2013 Nebraska spring game has passed away. He was 19. pic.twitter.com/pr1b69h0vU
Players from both teams jumped out onto the field to root the boy on as he made his triumphant run.
That was just the beginning of young Jack’s accolades. He met with President Obama in the Oval Office, won a 2013 ESPY Award for “Best Moment in Sports.,” and even played on his own high school football team.
Jack graduated last year and was set to pursue a pre-law major at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Alas, that is one achievement he will not be able to win.
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