Jack Hoffman, who won an ESPY for viral University of Nebraska TD, dies of brain cancer at 19

CNN
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Jack Hoffman, who captured the nation’s heart in 2013 when he scored a 69-yard touchdown at a spring game at the University of Nebraska at age seven, has died of brain cancer, the Team Jack Foundation announced “with heavy hearts” Wednesday. He was 19.

“Jack died after a long and hard-fought battle against brain cancer, a journey that inspired countless lives and left a legacy of hope, strength and resilience. Through his battle, Jack touched lives far and wide,” reads the social media.

In October, medical tests confirmed that new and more aggressive tumors had developed, the AP reports.

“Jack may no longer be with us personally, 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 to so many,” the statement continued. “While we mourn his passing, we also find comfort in knowing that Jack is now reunited with his father, Andy, in heaven.

“Jack Hoffman, you will always be our hero.”

Hoffman was diagnosed with brain cancer when he was five.

The family started the Team Jack Foundation to rally support for Jack and raise money for pediatric brain cancer research and create nationwide awareness of the disease.

Hoffman was a freshman majoring in political science at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The school shared its “deep sadness” in a social media post.

“Jack made a significant impact on our campus in his short time here,” he said X post reads. “We extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”

Hoffman’s parents took their son to his first Nebraska football game on his fifth birthday in 2010, and “he has been a Cornhusker football fan his whole life,” the foundation says. website said.

The University of Nebraska athletic department expressed its condolences.

“Jack Hoffman embodied what it means to be a Husker every day through his courage, fight and inspiration. We are devastated by his loss and send all our love to the Hoffman family.”

The famous touchdown run in front of a crowd of more than 60,000 cheering fans in April 2013 earned Hoffman an ESPY Award for “Best Moment” that year.

Shortly after the special experience, the then-first grader told CNN, “It felt amazing.”

During that interview, his father added: “There were a lot of emotions. It was just a really exciting opportunity for Jack, and for really the whole family. It was really just an incredible, incredible day.”

Hoffman would later spend time with then-President Barack Obama in the Oval Office. Obama signed a football for him.

Eight years later, his father, Andrew Hoffman, would succumb to cancer in March 2021 after being diagnosed with glioblastoma in July 2020.