Jack Hoffman, Nebraska superfan who went viral for spring game TD, dies at 19 after battle with brain cancer
Jack Hoffman, a Nebraska Cornhuskers A superfan who battled cancer and captured the nation’s attention with his 7-year-old spring game has died. He was 19 years old.
Hoffman died of brain cancer on Wednesday, Team Jack Foundation Executive Director Kylie Dockter said. At the end of last year, he fought with new and more aggressive tumors.
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Cancer survivor Jack Hoffman before vowing not to take drugs during halftime of Nebraska’s NCAA college football spring game in Lincoln, Nebraska on April 12, 2014. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of Jack Hoffman, the brave namesake of the Team Jack Foundation. Jack passed away after a long and difficult battle with brain cancer, a journey that inspired countless lives and left a legacy of hope, strength and resilience,” the foundation said in a statement. social networks.
“Through his battle, Jack touched lives far and wide. From his unforgettable 69-yard run during the Nebraska spring game that won the hearts of millions to the countless families who found comfort and support through the work of the Team Jack Foundation, his impact will resonate generations, Jack may no longer be with us, but his legacy lives on in the work of the Team Jack Foundation, in the lives of the children and families we have helped, and in the hope he gave so many.”
Hoffman was originally diagnosed with brain cancer in 2011, and his parents helped start the foundation to support research efforts to end pediatric brain cancer.
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Hoffman’s father, Andy, was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2020 and died on March 1, 2021. He was 42 years old.
Since 2013, the foundation has raised more than $12.6 million.
Hoffman went viral during Nebraska’s 2013 spring game after the coaching staff called him to play in the fourth quarter. Hoffman ran for a 69-yard touchdown and was the talk of the sports world for days.
In the midst of all this, he began a friendship with running back Rex Burkhead. The two, along with Hoffman’s family, later visited then-President Obama, who gave the young man a new soccer ball and told him he was proud of him.
“I love you my friend. Tell Jesus we salute him,” Burkhead wrote in a post on X.
Jack Hoffman, left, with his father, Andy Hoffman, accepts the award for Best Moment at the ESPY Awards, July 17, 2013, at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. (John Shearer/Invision/AP, File)
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Hoffman played football at Atkinson High School and graduated in May. He was before the right to University of Nebraska-Kearney.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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