The death has occurred at the age of 19 of Jack Hoffman, a cancer patient who won the hearts of Nebraska football fans and captivated the nation when he ran for a touchdown during the Cornhuskers’ spring game in 2013.
Hoffman was just seven years old at the time of his heroic performance.
It was announced by Kylie Dockter, the executive director of the Team Jack Foundation, that Hoffman passed away early on Wednesday morning at his residence in Atkinson, Nebraska, due to brain cancer.
In October, medical testing verified the development of additional tumors that were more aggressive than the previous ones.
The journey that Jack took against brain cancer was one that touched the lives of numerous people and left a legacy of hope, bravery, and resiliency.
Jack went away after a long fight with the disease. According to a statement that Team Jack made on social media on Wednesday, “Jack Hoffman, you will forever be our hero.”
Andy and Bri Hoffman, Hoffman’s parents, were the driving force behind the establishment of the Team Jack Foundation, which provides financial support for research into juvenile brain cancer. Hoffman was initially diagnosed with the disease in 2011.
A diagnosis of brain cancer was made for Andy Hoffman in the year 2020, and he passed away on March 1, 2021, at the age of 42.
A short time after receiving his diagnosis, Jack became acquainted with Rex Burkhead, a running back for the Nebraska Huskers who would go on to play in the National Football League. Jack was a devoted follower of Nebraska football.
Burkhead posted the following tweet on Wednesday: “Love you friend. Tell Jesus that we are saying hello.
During the spring game that Nebraska played in 2013, the coaching staff encouraged Jack to run a play in the fourth quarter.
This was the moment that Jack was presented to the entire nation. After receiving a handoff from Taylor Martinez, he crawled 69 yards to the end zone while wearing a small version of the Burkhead family suit.
The players on both sides of the field rushed onto the field, followed him past the goal line, and surrounded him, hoisting him on their shoulders to the pleasure of the crowd of sixty thousand people.
Following a period of three weeks, Jack, his family, and Burkhead paid a visit to President Barack Obama in the Oval Office for a duration of fifteen minutes. A new football was given to Jack by President Obama, who also expressed his pride in his accomplishments.
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During the interviews that took place in the year 2020 with Jack’s family, Jack’s mother stated that they had hoped to prevent the tumor from spreading.
“For kids and tumors,” she explained further, “what [doctors] told us is if you can keep it from growing until they reach like their 20s, a lot of times they just go away.”
Jack went on to become a member of the line of quarterback for the football team at Atkinson High School. In May, he received his diploma from the University of Nebraska-Kearney, where he had been pursuing a pre-law major.
