Young cancer patient who inspired millions with viral Nebraska football touchdown dies at 19

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January 16, 2025
Young cancer patient who inspired millions with viral Nebraska football touchdown dies at 19 Young cancer patient who inspired millions with viral Nebraska football touchdown dies at 19

A young cancer patient who inspired millions of college football fans in 2013 with a 69-yard springtime sprint in Nebraska has died of the disease, officials said Wednesday.

Jack Hoffman, a freshman at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and an aspiring attorney, was 19.

“Jack may no longer be with us in person, but his legacy lives on in the work of the Team Jack Foundation, in the lives of the children and families we’ve helped, and in the hope he gave to so many,” said a statement from Team Jack, a foundation that raises money for cancer research in the young man’s honor. “Jack Hoffman, you will always be our hero.”

Hoffman was just 5 when he was diagnosed with brain cancer, and his treatment for the ultimately fatal disease took center stage in 2013 during the Nebraska Cornhuskers’ spring football game.

At the end of the extended practice, the Huskers ran Hoffman out on the field in full uniform. Longtime Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez took a shotgun snap, handed the ball to 7-year-old Jack and helped direct the boy to run downfield at Memorial Stadium.

The little boy sprinted 69 yards to the end zone, with an escort of Huskers joyously running alongside the young cancer patient.

His lead blocker, fullback C.J. Zimmerer, hoisted Jack in celebration as soon as they crossed the goal line.

Jack Hoffman before delivering a drug-free pledge during the halftime of a Nebraska college football game in 2014.Nati Harnik / AP file

Footage of the TD run has gained more than 9 million views on the athletic department’s YouTube channel since it first dropped nearly 12 years ago.

The University of Nebraska said it is “heartbroken by his loss” but forever inspired by the youngster’s “courage, fight, and inspiration.”

“Small in stature, but not in heart,” the university’s statement said. “Your legacy will live on forever Jack.”

The young man was preceded in death by his father, attorney Andy Hoffman, who died of brain cancer in 2021.

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