The run of a 7-year-old will always be a lasting memory for many Husker fans.
It’s the run that Taylor Martinez has remarked is the favorite touchdown during his time at Nebraska. It wasn’t officially a touchdown. It was so much more.
Because even as a little boy Jack Hoffman showed so many people, not just Nebraska fans, what determination looks like in the face of real-life difficulty. And he continued that fight as he grew up to be a young man, inspiring many while raising funding for child brain cancer research and treatment.
On Wednesday, Hoffman died at age 19 after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. It is a life that will continue to inspire.
«It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of Jack Hoffman,» the Team Jack Foundation shared on Wednesday evening. «Jack passed away after a long battle with brain cancer, a journey that inspired countless lives and left a legacy of hope, strength, and resilience. Jack Hoffman, you will always be our hero.»
A freshman at the University of Nebraska-Kearney this year, Jack is survived by his mother, Bri, and two younger sisters. His father, Andy, died in 2021 after being diagnosed with glioblastoma.
In December, the Hoffmans shared publicly that Jack had tests that had shown multiple tumors as he finished his first semesters as a political science major at UNK.
Immanuel Lutheran Church in Atkinson posted on Wednesday afternoon: «God has summoned our brother Jack Hoffman into eternal life in the glories of heaven. Blessed be his memory among us. Visitation for Jack will Friday, Jan. 17th, from 5-8p at the church. The funeral service will be Saturday, Jan. 18th, at 10:30am at the Atkinson Community Center. ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.'»
Not just Nebraska, but those around the country, got to know Jack and the Hoffmans in the spring of 2013. The Huskers ran a play dialed up for young Jack. He had been diagnosed with brain cancer at age five, but the determination of him and his family shined brightly in the face of it.
Wearing a No. 22 jersey, like then-Husker running back Rex Burkhead, who still displays the Team Jack banner on his social media page, Jack took off on a 69-yard touchdown run as the entire Nebraska team ran after him. The crowd roared. Players lifted in him in the air.
It was an ESPN top play for weeks and eventually won an ESPY.
More importantly, a movement was born. The Team Jack Foundation has raised millions of dollars since in the fight for child brain cancer research.
«Jack Hoffman embodied what it means to be a Husker every day through his courage, fight, and inspiration,» the Husker social media account posted. «We are heartbroken by his loss and send all our love to the Hoffman family.»
«This is heartbreaking,» wrote former Husker Will Compton on X. «My heart goes out to the Hoffman family and everyone involved with the @teamjack foundation that have been fighting their asses off to raise money for pediatric brain cancer – all from the inspiration of Jack Hoffman. Rest in peace to a Husker legend.»
Rex Burkhead was one of many Huskers with that team so attached to Jack and the cause over the past decade.
On Wednesday evening Burkhead wrote, «Love you buddy. Tell Jesus we say hello.»