Jack Hoffman, the Nebraska superfan, who captured the nation’s heart with viral touchdown, dies of cancer at 19
Jack Hoffman, a fan of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers football team who warmed the hearts of millions after running for a touchdown during the 2013 spring game, has died at age 19 after a yearslong battle with brain cancer .
The executive director of the Team Jack Foundation said he died Wednesday after his fight at his home in Atkinson, Nebraska. Medical tests in October revealed that new and more aggressive brain tumors had developed in his body.
Hoffman was first diagnosed with brain cancer in 2011, which led to the creation of the foundation that supports pediatric brain cancer research.
Jack’s father, Andy Hoffman, was himself diagnosed with brain cancer in 2020 and died in 2021 at the age of 42.
Jack’s passion for the Cornhuskers football team led to a friendship with then Huskers running back and future Super Bowl champion Rex Burkhead.
That led to Hoffman being invited to the team’s spring game in Lincoln in 2013. The coaching staff invited him to make a play in the fourth quarter. Jack took a handoff from then-quarterback Taylor Martinez and marched 69 yards down the field toward the end zone.
Jack Hoffman, diagnosed with childhood brain cancer in 2011, died at 19
Hoffman gained worldwide fame for his run at the 2013 Nebraska spring football game
Hoffman’s run led to players from both sidelines streaming onto the field, heckling him and lifting him into the air as thousands in the stands of Memorial Stadium applauded him.
The series made national headlines for days and the video’s views reached into the millions – currently at 8.9 million at the time of publication.
Hoffman, Burkhead and his family later visited President Barack Obama in the Oval Office weeks after the run took place.
That year, Hoffman also won the 2013 ESPY Award for ‘Best Moment in Sports’.
According to the Associated Press, Jack played on the line for the Atkinson High School football team. He then went to the University of Nebraska at Kearney to study law.
According to ESPN, Hoffman was initially diagnosed with a cancerous glioma (tumor) in 2011 at the age of five. Doctors told the Hoffman’s that most of the growth could not be removed.
After researching ways to treat the tumor, Hoffman’s father found a doctor in Boston who removed more than 90 percent of the tumor.
Hoffman struck up a friendship with Burkhead — who used Jack’s fight as an example to fire up the Cornhuskers in a late 2011 game against Ohio State. Nebraska went on to win the game, with Burkhead scoring the winning touchdown.
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