Jack Hoffman, the cancer patient who captured the hearts of Nebraska football fans and inspired the nation as a 7-year-old when he ran for a touchdown during the Cornhuskers' 2013 spring game, has died at the age of 19. Kylie Dockter, executive director of the Team Jack Foundation, said Hoffman died of brain cancer early Wednesday at his home in Atkinson, Nebraska. Medical tests in October confirmed new and more aggressive tumors had developed. Hoffman initially was diagnosed in 2011, and his parents, Andy and Bri Hoffman, were the driving force behind the Team Jack Foundation, which supports pediatric brain cancer research. Andy Hoffman was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2020 and died at age 42 on March 1, 2021.
Jack was a passionate Nebraska football fan, and shortly after his diagnosis he struck up a friendship with Huskers running back and future NFL player Rex Burkhead. The nation was introduced to Jack at Nebraska's 2013 spring game, after the coaching staff invited him to run a play in the fourth quarter. Wearing a miniature Burkhead uniform, he took a handoff from Taylor Martinez and scooted 69 yards to the end zone. Players
