Jack Hoffman and other cancer patients participated in the Tunnel Walk with Nebraska Cornhuskers
In a moment likely to go down in Husker lore, 7-year-old Jack Hoffman of Atkinson, Nebraska, scored the final points of Nebraska’s Red-White Spring Game 10 years ago today.
Jack, the little big man battling brain cancer, was excited to find out that Saturday morning that he’d get to run a play in the spring game. And he was so excited when he got the ball that he started off in the wrong direction. But with a helping hand from quarterback Taylor Martinez, Jack cracked through the right side of the line like a bolt of lightning. Then he raced like the wind 69 yards to the end zone, outrunning a team of pursuing defenders.
The kid scored and the crowd went wild. Players from both sides chased him downfield and swarmed him afterward.
Shortly afterward, with a couple of television cameras and microphones in his face — and the game ball still under his arm — Jack summed up the day with three words.
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The play, which has been viewed by millions over the years, raised awareness of pediatric brain cancer and sparked donations to the Team Jack Foundation started by his parents.
“The Run” earned Jack a 2013 ESPY Award for Best Moment in Sports.
Jack wore No. 22, and like his buddy, Husker running back Rex Burkhead, Jack spurned a touchdown dance. “We’re from the farm,” said his dad, Andy Hoffman. “We’re not really the touchdown dance type of people.”
His father, Andy Hoffman, died of brain cancer in 2021, prompting an outpouring of condolences to his family from across the state.
Photos: Jack Hoffman’s touchdown run at the 2013 Husker spring game
Jack Hoffman takes the field with the Husker football team in the fourth quarter of the Husker Red-White spring game in 2013.
Jack Hoffman lines up for a play at running back during Nebraska’s spring game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln in 2013.
Jack Hoffman’s 69-yard touchdown run electrified Memorial Stadium and brought awareness nationally to pediatric brain cancer, with which Jack was diagnosed in May 2011 at age 5.
Jack Hoffman runs for a touchdown during the 2013 Husker spring game.
Jack Hoffman runs for a touchdown in the spring game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln on April 6, 2013.
Both Red and White teams cheer as Jack Hoffman, 7, scores a touchdown during Nebraska’s spring game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln in 2013
Jack Hoffman heads off the field after scoring a touchdown during Nebraska’s 2013 spring game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
Jack Hoffman, who became a national sensation after running for a touchdown at Nebraska’s spring game, signs a fan’s T-shirt at the College World Series on June 13, 2013. Hoffman was in attendance for the College World Series game between Mississippi State and Indiana, before his final day of chemotherapy.
Jack Hoffman tries on a Husker football helmet autographed by members of the 2013 squad during the National Pediatric Brain Cancer Awareness Day celebration in Atkinson, Nebraska, in September 2013.
A football fan sports a tattoo of Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez and young Jack Hoffman. The fan was among those meeting Husker players during Fan Day at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln on Aug. 2, 2013. A friendship between Rex Burkhead, then a Nebraska running back, and Jack led to a moment at the 2013 spring game that made the youngster an overnight celebrity. His 69-yard touchdown run electrified Memorial Stadium and brought awareness nationally to pediatric brain cancer, with which Jack was diagnosed in May 2011 at age 5.
Jack Hoffman, left, shows his dad, Andy Hoffman, his FBI Junior Special Agent credentials. Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead is at center. Burkhead’s friendship with 7-year-old Jack helped inspire some 60 Huskers to help raise money for the battle against pediatric brain cancer.
Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead and Jack Hoffman became friends when the boy was 5 years old and facing surgery, and his family asked if he could have his photo taken with the NU star. Their bond deepened after that. Burkhead ran to the stands at the Big Ten title game to high-five his buddy. Jack attended Burkhead’s University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduation ceremony.
Reporter Maria Taylor speaks to Jack Hoffman and his dad, Andy, about Jack’s 69-yeard touchdown run at the 2013 Husker spring game, during ESPN College Gameday at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 28, 2019.
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