Huskers TBT – Hoffman lights up Nebraska Spring Game
By Sean Martin
Throwback Thursday: Team Jack takes Nebraska by storm
April 6, 2013 – Over the years, in its lengthy history of being one of the top rushing programs in college football, the Nebraska Cornhuskers have had plenty of runners capable of bursting through the line of scrimmage for a game-breaking touchdown run.
I.M. Hipp, Jarvis Redwine, Mike Rozier, Keith “Endzone” Jones, the “We-Backs”, Derek Brown and Calvin Jones, Lawrence Phillips, Tommie Frazier, Ahman Green, Eric Crouch, Roy Helu Jr., Taylor Martinez, Rex Burkhead, and Ameer Abdullah, just to name a few.
Nobody though, through the storied tradition of Big Red football, has ever run with the ball quite like Jack Hoffman, who has one of the most memorable moments in Spring Game history.
The play call was simple.
Hoffman was to take the hand-off from Martinez and dart to his right.
It was fourth-and-1 from his own 31-yard line.
Initially, Hoffman, wearing the number 22 for his favorite Husker, Rex Burkhead, went left.
Then he made a cut back any prestigious I-Back in the history of the program would be proud of.
Once clear, Hoffman had a convoy of blockers and was on his way for an electrifying 69-yard touchdown run in front of a screaming crowd of 60,174 at Memorial Stadium.
Watch the play below, be advised, a box of tissues are recommended on hand before playing.
The play call came from Husker assistant Joe Ganz and Martinez, who went over the play old-school style on the sideline.
Jack Hoffman was not a five-star, but became the biggest star, leading his team in rushing.
In a sense, he carried on the tradition of the Husker walk-on program and provided a moment that will live for all-time.
At the time, Hoffman was a 7-year old child with pediatric brain cancer who had become an adopted member of the Husker football team.
His special bond with Burkhead, a friendship forged following an arranged meeting in 2011, was the driving force to Jack becoming and remaining a fixture of the Husker football program to this day.
Martinez and fullback C.J. Zimmerer offered these quotes to Big Red Today on Omaha.com following the 2013 spring game:
“That was awesome for the team and for Jack,” Martinez said. “He’s going to remember that for the rest of his life and so will I. It was awesome for him to score that touchdown.”
“We drew up the play probably 30 seconds before so I’m sure it was all a blur for him,” Zimmerer said.
“I was telling some of the other reporters that he did a great job. We wanted to get him around the edge, giving him a nice lane to the end zone. He did a great job running his little legs there. He’s fast for a little guy. He did a great job for the pressure of 60,000 fans. I’m sure it was not very easy for a 7-year-old.”
Hoffman’s moment was named as the Best Moment of 2013 at the ESPY awards.
Jack was diagnosed with the brain cancer in April 2011, and had a pair of surgeries that year.
Hoffman remained close to Burkhead, and led the Huskers through the Tunnel Walk prior to hosting Wisconsin in 2012.
Jack’s parents, Andy and Brianna, helped form the Team Jack Foundation for pediatric brain cancer research.
The foundation continues to grow; it raised over $400,000 in 2016, and continues to do so to fight the terrible disease.
Information on the Team Jack Foundation can be found at https://www.teamjackfoundation.org
Jack was in remission in April 2014, however the disease returned in August 2014.