The Rare Disease Champion Team

Antwan was diagnosed with the rare blood disorder aplastic anemia in high school.  He continued to play football until the 2016 season when his rare diagnosis took a turn for the worse.

Forced to leave school, Antwan was in-and-out of the hospital, went without solid food for nearly two months and dropped down to 125 pounds.  He received a life-saving bone marrow transplant from his father in 2017 and started on the road to recovery.

Antwan returned to school in early 2018 and, prior to the start of the season, was cleared by four doctors to start playing football again after nearly 36 months away from the game.  A finalist for the 11th Rare Disease Champion Award, Antwan has appeared in every game so far for Kent State over the last two seasons.

Inspired by the voice he discovered as a rare disease patient with a platform to make a difference as a college football player, Antwan wanted to give back.  So the native of Florida started the Kent State Chapter of Uplifting Athletes, attended the Leadership Development Conference in early 2019 and oversaw the inaugural Lift For Life event as the Chapter President.

Antwan was recognized as the 2018 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year and the Columbus Touchdown Club Male Athlete of the Year.

A native of Wisconsin, Sam is living out his dream of playing major college football after nearly dying from complications related to his rare diagnosis.

Sam lives with congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a rare blood disorder that does not allow for the production of the ADAMTS13 enzyme, which breaks down large proteins.  In order to help his body manage, he must undergo 14-20 hours of plasma therapy every three weeks, including during the football season.

When he arrived on campus, Sam learned about the strong tradition of leadership within the Syracuse Chapter of Uplifting Athletes and, being a rare disease patient himself, the cause had purpose and special meaning to him.

A finalist for the 11th Rare Disease Champion, Sam attended the Leadership Development Conference in 2018 and 2019 and has been the Syracuse Chapter President the past two years.

Reluctant to talk about his rare diagnosis because he wants his football play to speak for itself, Sam has learned his voice is strong and his platform is big.  And in his words “I need be as much help to others as I can!”.

Sam, full-time starter in 2017 on the Orange offensive line, rotated as the sixth man in 2018 and played in every game.  This season he earned the job as the starting center before injuries forced him to the side-line early on in the season.

The former Austin Peay State University Offensive Coordinator and current University of Kansas Assistant Coach has a daughter, Landrey, who is the first known person in the United States to be diagnosed with a rare mutation of the CSNK2B gene.

Landrey battles myoclonic epilepsy, intellectual disability, a congenital heart defect, and immunodeficiency. She spent the first 73 days of her life critically ill on life support, enduring major open heart surgery and surviving four codes. Until the age of four, Landrey was critically or acutely ill 40 percent of her life. She’s battled through 15 hospitalizations and there is no cure for this condition.

Coach Eargle is tenacious, unfortunately, mostly due to the battle he endures. Eargle’s strength and unrelenting fight is a calming presence to his daughter, and his calm under extreme pressure allows their family to have a laser focus on their mission rooted in inspiring others through faith, hope and joy.

The night before Ryan and the rest of the 2017 Stanford Cardinal team was due to fly out to play in the Alamo Bowl, Ryan was packing at his home in Fresno, Calif. when he received a phone call from Stanford Hospital. A pathology report had come back about a lump under the linebacker’s armpit and a biopsy revealed he had tested positive for a rare form of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma called “ALK-positive.”

Scared and uncertain about his future, Ryan stayed home and sought an immediate diagnosis for what turned out to be a treatable form of lymphoma. Ryan underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, lost his hair and considerable weight off his 6-1, 230-pound frame. Ryan was unsure about his football future and missed spring practice and two quarters of school. He never complained.

Ryan was cleared to participate in fall camp in the summer of 2018 and didn’t miss a beat. He played in all 13 games on special teams that season and in 2019 went on to make his first collegiate start against Colorado. Ryan's determination to return to his team and to stay active by attending classes was inspirational for others.

Nick was a two-time captain and finished his University of Illinois career with 36 consecutive starts, playing nearly every snap on the offensive line over his final two seasons.

His family has a strong connection to the Rare Disease Community through his brother who was diagnosed with a rare disease.

Off the field during his Illinois career, Nick served as Illinois’ Uplifting Athletes Chapter President for two years, raising more than $88,000 to support the Rare Disease Community through the team’s annual Lift for Life event. He has been a candidate for many community services awards, including 2018 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Award (Finalist), 2018 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year (semifinalist), 2018 Campbell Trophy (semifinalist) and 2018 Senior CLASS Award candidate.

Nick was taken by the Kansas City Chiefs in the seventh round (216th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft and won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs as a rookie.

Shaquem was born with the rare disorder amniotic band syndrome of his left hand. He endured the pain for four years before his hand was surgically removed in 1999. Shaquem was told “you can’t” most of his life, but he loved the game of football and his passion to play was stronger than his absence of a left hand. His identical twin brother, Shaquill, and he chose to play college football at UCF because the school was committed to giving both Griffins the opportunity to play.

It took Shaquem longer to become an impact player at UCF because of a position switch from safety to linebacker, but once he found the field, his impact was almost immediate. In his first year as a starter he won the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Defensive Player of the Year award. The combination of speed, power and athleticism completely overshadowed the challenges he faced.

Shaquem was drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft (141st overall) by the Seattle Seahawks and joined Shaquill in the same NFL city - Shaquill was drafted in the third round by the Seahawks in 2017.

A young and talented running back in his second year at Louisiana Tech, Jaqwis was ready to take the next step in his college football career and become an impact player for the Bulldogs . In early October of 2016, Jaqwis was handed a challenge he never saw coming. He was diagnosed with a rare form of Stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

His football career was put on hold while he underwent four months of intense chemotherapy. In February of 2017 he received the good news the treatments had worked and he was cancer free. He followed up with a couple more radiation treatments to make sure all the cancerous cells were gone before getting cleared to begin training for the upcoming season.

In the 2017 opener versus Northwestern State, the redshirt sophomore was able to finish what he started a year earlier by forcing his way into the end zone at the end of the third quarter for a four-yard rushing touchdown to give LA Tech a 31-24 lead over the Demons. It was the first touchdown of his college career.

Before Zach walked on at Syracuse University after a year of junior college football, his passion for the Rare Disease Community already existed.

Zach had a childhood friend, Blake Donegan, who he fell out of touch with for quite a while. When Zach saw his friend again in high school he was in a wheelchair, diagnosed with the rare disease Niemann-Pick disease, Type C, a lipid storage affliction that can lead to respiratory failure and liver damage and has no known cure. Blake deals with seizures on a regular basis and struggles to speak, eat or stand on his own. But he’s a fighter with an infectious never-give-up attitude that served as a great inspiration for Zach.

Zach eventually earned a scholarship at Syracuse and became a reliable No. 2 QB, throwing for more than 2,000 yards in his career. Inspired by Blake to make a difference, Zach served as President of the Syracuse Chapter of Uplifting Athletes for two years. Zach still owns the Syracuse record for most touchdown responsibility in a game with seven (five passing, two rushing) in a win over Pittsburgh. He broke Jim Brown’s record of six.

Casey was a standout quarterback as a freshman in high school before being diagnosed with the rare disease osteosarcoma. Athletics were a big part of his life up to that point - Casey also played ice hockey, lacrosse, ran track and took up golf for which he was named all conference his senior year.

When you spend 165 nights in the hospital over the course of 17 months you learn something about yourself. It appeared his football playing days, the sport he loved the most, were over. All those nights in the hospital gave Casey time to think and he came up with a plan to become a holder.

Casey, who is a four-time rare cancer survivor, was a holder for his high school team his final two years and walked on the University of Minnesota with the intention of playing for the Golden Gophers. On October 19, 2019 the redshirt sophomore earned his first official snap as a member of the Minnesota football team when he held for the extra point at home against Rutgers.

James knew his star was on the rise after the University of Pittsburgh running back earned ACC Player of the Year honors in 2014, rushing for nearly 1,800 yards and 26 touchdowns that year. Then came 2015 - a year that changed Conner as a person. First, he suffered a serious knee injury in the first half of the season opener and, less than three months later, was diagnosed with Hodgkins’ lymphoma.

Very few can understand the long odds, work ethic and grind it took for James to return to the field for Panthers in 2016 to rush for more than 1,000 yards as a team captain. Yet through it all, James never stopped thinking of others or looking for ways to help and inspire others. The fabric of James the person was on display for all to see. His knee injury started James down a path that would create a whole new prism of life that was unexpected.

James won the Disney Spirit Award following the 2016 season and after declaring early for the NFL, the native of Erie was drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft by his hometown team - the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Mitchell had positioned himself to become a big-time contributor for the Iowa State defense following his redshirt sophomore year in 2014. He had two years of starting at defensive end and also played some snaps inside along the line. He was versatile, experienced and had two years of eligibility remaining.

During the offseason, swelling in his neck escalated into what Mitchell described as a feeling of being choked. That led to a CT scan and eventually a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in February of 2015. His rare diagnosis was the start of an 18-month journey for Mitchell where playing football again was always on his mind, but knew his priority had to be fighting off his rare cancer and getting healthy. He returned to campus early in 2016, and was cleared to play just before the start of camp.

With a new coaching staff in place at Iowa State, and most of his former teammates gone, all Mitchell wanted was an opportunity. And he was promised that was all he would get. Mitchell not only earned a starting spot after 18 months away from the game, he was named a team captain and played all season at defensive end registering nearly 30 tackles.

Michael grew up a huge Michigan Wolverines fan and always dreamed of playing for the maize and gold. He didn’t have any FBS offers coming out of high school, but was recruited to play at Harvard. While playing junior varsity as a freshman in 2001, he was diagnosed with Wegener’s disease, a rare disorder that causes inflammation of the blood vessels in your nose, throat, sinuses, lungs and kidneys. He never played football again for the Crimson Tide but graduated from Harvard in 2014 and took a job on Wall Street.

In January of 2016, he cleared one big hurdle when he took an unofficial visit to Ann Arbor and met with Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh and shared his story. Harbaugh offered him a spot on the team as a preferred walk-on. In his very first game in Michigan colors, the 2016 season opener against Hawaii, Michael caught a 15-yard touchdown pass.

When most players receive a scholarship offer from Notre Dame, and they want to play for the Fighting Irish, the decision to pack up and head to South Bend is pretty easy. That was not the case for Dexter. In order to pursue his dream of obtaining a degree from Notre Dame and to play for the Fighting Irish, the native of Orlando had to leave his Mom’s side.

Dexter’s mom Cheryl was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis following a series of strokes in 2006. The Williams family has endured the fight with this rare disease together for more than a decade. And in 2010, Cheryl nearly lost her battle with myasthenia gravis.

Dexter came home from school and as he bent down to give his mother a kiss, he found her unconscious laying on the couch. Cheryl was rushed to the hospital and spent nearly three months on life support. Their bond was tight, but Dexter went to Notre Dame. In 2016 Cheryl was well enough to attend a game in South Bend and saw her son score a touchdown. After he crossed the goal line, Dexter pointed right at his mom who was crying in her seat.

Jake and his story was already known nationally before he arrived at USC as a student in 2015. A huge USC Trojans fan growing up, Jake developed a relationship with former Trojans coach Pete Carroll just prior to having surgery that would take away his eyesight in 2009 at the age of 12. Jake was diagnosed with retinoblastoma when he was born and had lost sight in one of his eyes when he was just 10 months old.

Jake never let being blind define him.

He continued to flourish growing up despite his loss of sight, and he worked tirelessly to become a long snapper for his high school football team. And he longed to fulfill his dream of playing for his beloved Trojans. Jake was granted walk-on status and continued to re-shape his body to get ready in case his number was called. In the 2017 season opener against Western Michigan, Jake became a USC football letterman by snapping for an extra point against the Broncos.

Jake graduated from USC in 2018 and continues to be a leader in the fight against retinoblastoma by raising funds to support cutting edge research as well as becoming a business entrepreneur.

It took Marcus’ doctors three surgeries to finally figure out what the UCLA Bruins defensive back was up against. His condition, Aspergillosis, was extremely rare and deadly. Rios was told that of the 12 previous confirmed cases similar to his, 10 had ultimately died of the disease. It quickly became apparent Rios was in a fight for his life.

Initially Marcus believed he had a sinus infection, but his symptoms and pain escalated to the point where sleep was impossible. It was hard to even see and Marcus could barely get out of bed. The doctors at UCLA Medical Center made it clear to Marcus when he was admitted that his life was in serious jeopardy. Marcus spent 28 days in the hospital, lost nearly 50 pounds, but survived.

His room in the hospital overlooked the Bruins’ football practice field and kept him motivated. He came back bigger and stronger for the 2015 season and earned a starting cornerback spot, playing in all 13 games. His story was featured on the television series “Monster Inside Me” on Animal Planet.

Zachary battled stomach issues during Liberty football summer workouts prior to the 2014 season. Originally diagnosed with an infection, Zachary knew it was more when his symptoms escalated and the linebacker lost nearly 40 pounds over six weeks.

He returned home to Maryland and secured an appointment at Johns Hopkins where ultimately Zachary was diagnosed with the rare disease Ulcerative Colitis (UC). The shock of his diagnosis was compounded when doctors told him he had the more severe type of UC, so his treatment protocol was going to take some time, and not being able to play football ever again was a real possibility. Returning to the field drove Zachary, though.

His monthly treatments and flare-ups, where some mornings it was difficult to get out of bed and it wasn’t uncommon to lose up to 10 pounds in a week, did not prevent Schreiber from getting back on the field. He played the second half of the 2014 season and finished off his senior season in 2015 by playing in every game.

Mitchell had positioned himself to become a big-time contributor for the Iowa State defense following his redshirt sophomore year in 2014. He had two years of starting at defensive end and also played some snaps inside along the line. He was versatile, experienced and had two years of eligibility remaining. 

During the offseason, swelling in his neck escalated into what Mitchell described as a feeling of being choked. That led to a CT scan and eventually a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in February of 2015. His rare diagnosis was the start of an 18-month journey for Mitchell where playing football again was always on his mind, but knew his priority had to be fighting off his rare cancer and getting healthy. He returned to campus early in 2016, and was cleared to play just before the start of camp.

With a new coaching staff in place at Iowa State, and most of his former teammates gone, all Mitchell wanted was an opportunity. And he was promised that was all he would get. Mitchell not only earned a starting spot after 18 months away from the game, he was named a team captain and played all season at defensive end registering nearly 30 tackles.

Kaleb traveled halfway across the country from Arizona to Pennsylvania to attend college and play football because he was convinced that, no matter what happened with football, he would have an Ivy League education from Penn to fall back on. Little did he know that decision would turn out to be one of the best of his young life.

The wide receiver was working out during a study break during finals week late in 2014 when the right side of his body started to feel “funky”. Then when his whole face went numb and his one arm went totally numb and he couldn’t lift it, his concern escalated. Originally diagnosed as a stroke, Kaleb went through a series of MRI’s CT scans, spinal taps and blood work before he was eventually diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

His football playing days were over, but Kaleb approached the coaching staff and asked if he could stay involved with the team. He was made a student-coach as part of the staff and did a little bit of everything during Penn’s 2015 magical ride to a share of the Ivy League title.

Ju’Juan and his wife, Brandi, are no different than any other parents. When their son was diagnosed with Hodgkin nodular lymphoma in early 2015, the Seider’s became a family on a mission to help Jaden in any way possible to battle his rare form of cancer.

Jaden spent nine weeks in the West Virginia University Children’s Hospital right across the street from the Mountaineers stadium. Learning from the inside about the staff and people at the hospital inspired Ju’Juan and Brandi to do more and help other families in similar situations.

The West Virginia football team, where Ju’Juan was a coach at the time, became a strong support element for the Seider family, helping to bring awareness to rare cancers. This was still about Jaden and his battle, but, through this, the Seider’s learned they had a platform that could be used to help others.

There is this unique passion and tone when a parents talk about the first time they saw their newborn child. It was nothing different for Quinterrius Eatmon and his wife, Melyza, nearly two years ago. Only difference for the Eatmon’s was their daughter, Melaynna Savannah, could not see her parents.

The diagnosis for the Eatmon family seemed so cut and dry. Their daughter had Septo-optic dysplasia and nearly 95 percent of children diagnosed with this rare disease that affects only 1 in 10,000 newborns, need to learn braille in order to communicate. Plus little Melaynna Savannah, who already could not see, also had Nystagmus — which is rapid, uncontrollable movements of the eye that caused the baby to panic when not in the arms of her mother.

Being a student and athlete was extremely difficult for Quinterrius. Leaning on his faith, Quinterrius graduated from USF with a degree in economics in 2014 and finished his playing career starting 46 of 47 games he played for the Bulls along the offensive line. Surgery for his daughter delivered a miracle as Melaynna Savannah reacted to a camera flash and seemed to follow light to give her hope for the future.

It took Marcus’ doctors three surgeries to finally figure out what the UCLA Bruins defensive back was up against. His condition, Aspergillosis, was extremely rare and deadly. Rios was told that of the 12 previous confirmed cases similar to his, 10 had ultimately died of the disease. It quickly became apparent Rios was in a fight for his life.

Initially Marcus believed he had a sinus infection, but his symptoms and pain escalated to the point where sleep was impossible. It was hard to even see and Marcus could barely get out of bed. The doctors at UCLA Medical Center made it clear to Marcus when he was admitted that his life was in serious jeopardy. Marcus spent 28 days in the hospital, lost nearly 50 pounds, but survived.

His room in the hospital overlooked the Bruins’ football practice field and kept him motivated. He came back bigger and stronger for the 2015 season and earned a starting cornerback spot, playing in all 13 games. His story was featured on the television series “Monster Inside Me” on Animal Planet.

Levi was back for a visit at his high school alma mater, Midway in Waco, Texas, and was at a football game the first time he met Jacoby Burks and his family. Jacoby battles cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair. Levi didn’t want their chance meeting to be just a one-and-done . He figured why not welcome a friend from his high school into his current family at Baylor University where he was a wide receiver and kick returner for the Bears.

For the next three years, whenever it worked for all parties involved, Levi and his teammates welcomed the Burks family to Bears’ practices and games. 

A former friend from his days in State College, Pennsylvania,  inspired Levi to take his relationship with Jacoby to the next level. Sam Rodgers, now at Syracuse, had co-founded the Syracuse Chapter and told Levi he should do the same at Baylor because the team already had a rare disease cause.

Levi agreed and founded the Baylor Chapter of Uplifting Athletes in 2013 and helped guide the Bears’ Chapter to holding its first events to support the Rare Disease Community in 2014.

Levi Norwood is currently the Chapter Success Manager for Uplifting Athletes.

When Sammie, a former Auburn wide receiver, saw then 12-year-old Kenzie Ray sitting by herself after a game in 2013 as he left the stadium locker room, he didn’t know her story. But he knew that look in her eyes and the big-time talent in the midst of a breakout season didn’t hesitate to walk over and strike up a conversation. Out of that conversation he learned Kenzie was battling a horrible rare form of leukemia. The wristband Kenzie gave Sammie after that brief encounter was the first step in what would blossom into a genuine kinship.

The summer of 2014 was an extremely difficult time for Kenzie and the Ray family. She was battling pneumonia following a recent round of chemotherapy that significantly compromised her immune system. Doctors said Kenzie might not make it through the night. So Kenzie’s mom Keisha called Sammie to give him an update. Three hours later, to the surprise of the Ray family, Sammie was at the hospital holding Kenzie’s hand and praying – assuring the family he believed she was going to make it. And she did.

Sammie finished his career at Auburn, was drafted in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers and played in the NFL for five-plus years while maintaining his friendship with Kenzie and the Ray family.

Greg and fellow coach Kim Dameron already had a decade of friendship under their belts when they were the offensive and defensive coordinators at Stephen F. Austin starting in 2001. Each went their separate coaching ways in 2005, but when Kim was hired as the head coach at Eastern Illinois in 2014, one of his first calls was to Greg to see if his old friend would be his offensive coordinator. Even though Greg was coordinating an offense at Southeastern Louisiana that was Top 10 in FCS scoring in 2013, the draw of friendship was too strong to pass up, so Greg took over the OC at EIU.

Only months after taking over as the offensive coordinator at his new school, Greg was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s large B-cell lymphoma in June. His diagnosis was scary, but Greg was determined to still do his job to the best of his ability.

Chemotherapy treatments started right away and lasted until early October. But Greg made sure he didn’t miss a single practice or Eastern Illinois game while undergoing treatment - all with his close friend and boss at his side

Dan was the Director of Football Operations in 2010 when the University of Minnesota hired Jerry Kill as the head coach. O’Brien and coach Kill formed a close relationship over the next few years. As the Golden Gophers prepared for the 2013 Texas Bowl, the team doctors thought it would be a good idea to have Coach Kill in the room when they informed Dan and his wife Chris that their son, Casey, had osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. (Casey O’Brien would become a member of the 2018 Rare Disease Champion class.)

The initial treatment plan for Casey required a nearly 100-day stay in the hospital, seven hours of surgery to remove the cancer and a complete knee replacement followed by 24 rounds of chemotherapy. Dan and Chris didn’t want to leave their son alone. So mom, Chris, took the day shift and Dan was on duty at night.

Even when his job required him to travel out of town, he would make it a day trip and fly back home to be with his son. No matter what was required of him, Dan made sure he was there every night.

During the offseason between his junior and senior year at the University of Utah, the versatile linebacker/defensive end saw his world turned upside down when Trevor and his wife Jessica found out their 11-month old daughter, Shayn, was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Trevor said playing through his junior season with a torn ACL was easier than watching his 1-year-old daughter battle kidney cancer.

Following surgery to remove a tumor from his daughter that Trevor says was the size of his fist, the Reilly’s spent every Friday over the next four months taking their daughter to chemotherapy treatments. Then Trevor would head to football practice, battling internally where his focus should be. It was a rugged treatment protocol, but Trevor’s strength and courage never wavered. He remained committed to his family and his teammates.

Before the final home game of his senior season, Trevor let everyone know who the real fighter was in his family when he entered the field with Shayn on his shoulders

As the head football coach at first Florida State and then Texas A&M, Jimbo is all about winning and finding ways to overcome obstacles to win. Ever since his youngest son, Ethan, was diagnosed with the rare blood disorder Fanconi anemia in 2011, what it means to win has taken on a whole new meaning for the National Championship winning coach.

As a way to not only support his son in his rare disease battle, but for all Fanconi anemia (FA) patients, Jimbo and his family worked together and formed a team to start a national foundation called Kidz1stFund in August of 2011 to support Fanconi anemia patients by funding research. Jimbo knew his platform as a major college football head coach was an avenue to spread the word about FA and raise awareness.

In support of his coach’s family, former FSU tight end Kevin Haplea formed an Uplifting Athletes chapter in Tallahassee to honor the Fisher family and let them know the players cared. Jimbo said what Kevin did “caught him off guard” but said it was “touching."

Chuck, Stony Brook’s veteran head coach of more than a decade, was more than willing to make a difference in the life of a rare disease patient when a former college football teammate asked him for a favor that didn’t require anything more than saying yes. Chuck’s former college football teammate at Albany, Dennis Murphy, introduced the Seawolves’ skipper to Joey Feminella from West Islip, New York in 2009 through Friends of Jaclyn.

Joey was diagnosed with medulloblastoma at the age of 5, an aggressive form of pediatric brain cancer with a survival rate in the teens. After surgery and three years of radiation, Joey met Coach Priore and the Stony Brook team and became part of the program.

It took some time for Joey to warm up to being part of the team, but the inspiration he received from them developed into a lasting friendship for nearly a half-decade. All Chuck had to do was say yes to an old friend to make it happen.

C.J. is one of those individuals who doesn’t have an inherent big-stage bone in his body. After all, his chosen position on a college football field for the University of Nebraska was fullback. The best fullbacks embrace life in the shadows. Diversely talented, but willing to sacrifice and serve others first to further the bigger cause is part of the DNA of those who choose to play the position. That’s Zimmerer in a nutshell.

While serving as the Nebraska Chapter President, C.J. and his teammates had an idea the night before the Huskers’ annual spring game. The idea was refined by the Nebraska football staff and it involved getting then 7-year-old pediatric brain cancer patient Jack Hoffman, a huge Huskers fan, in the game.

On a beautiful spring afternoon in April of 2013, Jack’s 69-yard run moved a nation to the tune of nearly 10 million views of the video on YouTube. Jack won an ESPY for “Best Sports Moment” in 2013. The Hoffman family paid a visit to the White House for a meeting with then President Barack Obama and put rare pediatric cancers on a national stage

Following an outstanding season in which he earned All-California honors as  at College of the Redwoods, Dillon went through a transformation of his body and psyche that coaches, friends and family couldn’t understand. He went from a muscular 320 pounds to 380, developed symptoms of bipolar disorder, and finally became a near vegetable, suffering from what appeared to be severe clinical depression. As he went in and out of hospitals, no firm diagnosis was reached.

Most of his close friends and family thought he was abusing drugs. Dillon was adamant in his denial of abusing drugs, but also knew something was very wrong. During his struggles, Dillon also developed diabetes, which actually helped his family doctor reach a diagnosis. During an appointment for diabetes monitoring, the doctor suggested that Dillon might have a rare disorder called Cushing’s disease. A scan revealed a huge tumor wrapped around his heart and left lung, one that had developed the ability to excrete the hormone cortisol, resulting in his erratic behavior and body changes. Open heart surgery removed the tumor, but his left lung was now useless.

Determined to continue his football career at Humboldt State, Dillon reported to training camp in August only four months after surgery. With a single functioning lung, he started all 11 games that season, and was named to the All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference team.

The 2013 Rare Disease Champion was an offensive lineman for the Nittany Lions. During Shrive's 5-year career at Penn State he was always involved with the Uplifting Athletes Chapter and raised more than $100,000 for kidney cancer research.

A veteran for the Cincinnati Bengals and a strong supporter of the Team Jack Foundation, Burkhead’s relationship with a 6-year-old Jack Hoffman, who suffers from a pediatric brain tumor, inspired his Husker teammates to fight back by raising awareness and providing support for him and his family.

Culbreath’s personal battle with aplastic anemia served as an inspiration for his teammates and an inspiration to the rare disease community. The running back lost missed his junior season when he was diagnosed, but battled back to play his final season for the Tigers.

Dickinson College’s Ian Mitchell was named the 2010 Rare Disease Champion. Mitchell raised more than $95,000 in his collegiate career in honor of a childhood friend who passed away from a rare form of bone cancer.

The 2009 recipient was Grant Teaff of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), selected for its nation-wide effort to raise awareness about Duchenne Muscular Distrophy through their one-day event “Coach to Cure MD”, which raised more than $230,000 in 2008.