Jack H----------------------------------------------------------------off Today

Jack started running to his left, followed by a wall of 250-pound offensive linemen who had been instructed to block, but not to hurt anyone. As Jack cut upfield, the White team’s defensive players—all of them Division I athletes—did something extraordinary. They parted like the Red Sea. They dove out of the way, feigned shoestring tackles, and essentially escorted the little boy in the No. 22 jersey all the way to the end zone.

Nebraska’s spring game attendance has since declined, and the program has struggled to recapture its 1990s glory. But the "Team Jack" moment remains untarnished. It is the Huskers’ most significant win of the 21st century—not a trophy, but an act of grace. As of this writing, Jack Hoffman is 19 years old. He has outlived his initial prognosis by more than a decade. He lives in Atkinson, Nebraska, with his family. He attends special education classes, loves playing video games (especially "Mario Kart"), and still watches every Huskers game on TV. He rarely gives interviews because his speech has been affected by the tumors and treatments, but when he does, he always says the same thing: "Go Big Red." Jack started running to his left, followed by

The diagnosis was devastating: , an aggressive and malignant brain tumor. The average survival rate for adults with GBM is 12-15 months; for children, the prognosis is often equally grim. Jack underwent emergency brain surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible, followed by months of radiation and chemotherapy. They dove out of the way, feigned shoestring