A young man whose 69-yard spring rush at Nebraska in 2013 inspired millions of college football fans has died from cancer, officials said Wednesday.

Jack Hoffman, 19, is a freshman at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and an aspiring attorney.

“Jack may no longer be with us in person, but his legacy will continue to live on in the work of the Jack Team Foundation, in the lives of the children and families we have helped, and hopefully the impact he made on so many contribution," said a statement from Jack's Team, a foundation that raises funds for cancer research in the young man's memory. "Jack Hoffman, you will always be our hero."

Huffman was just 5 years old when he was diagnosed with brain cancer, and his treatment of the ultimately fatal disease came into focus during the 2013 Nebraska Cornhuskers spring football game.

Towards the end of a long practice, the Huskers rushed Hoffman onto the field in full uniform.

Nebraska senior quarterback Taylor Martinez fired a shotgun pass to 7-year-old Jake and helped coach the boy running downfield at Memorial Stadium.

The little boy sprinted 69 yards to the end zone as Huskers escorts happily ran with the young cancer patient.

As they crossed the goal line, his lead blocker, linebacker C.J. Zimmerer, held up Jack in celebration.

The TD run video has been viewed more than 9 million times on the athletic department's YouTube channel since it was first posted nearly 12 years ago.

Jack's story became widely known and led to an Oval Office meeting with President Barack Obama.

The team's community outreach operation already knew Jack would be entering that season.

Jeff Jamrog, the program's director of football operations at the time, said it wasn't until the day before a spring game in 2013 that he and then-assistant coach Rich Fisher came up with the idea of ​​having Jack The idea of ​​getting on the field.

"It was the loudest cheer I've ever heard in Memorial Stadium, for a shot, maybe the loudest cheer ever," Jamrog told NBC News on Thursday. "It was a really cool moment. From then on, it went viral around the world."

Jamrog, now the head football coach at NAIA Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska, said he last spoke with the youngster in December.

"I talked to him on Christmas Eve and just wished him 'Merry Christmas,' but I could tell in his voice that it didn't sound good," Jamrog said. "I was very concerned at the time. He fought a tough battle."

The University of Nebraska said it was "heartbroken by his passing" but was forever inspired by the young man's "courage, struggle and inspiration."

"Small in stature, but big in heart," the university's statement said. "Your legacy will forever live on Jack."

The young man's death follows the death of his father, attorney Andy Hoffman, from brain cancer in 2021.