ATLANTA — They met eight years ago, when Rex Burkhead was a star running back at Nebraska and a 5-year-old Nebraska boy was fighting off a brain tumor. They have been inspirations to each other ever since.

Jack Hoffman, still fighting for his life, will be there on Super Sunday to watch his Patriots hero try to beat the Rams and win a championship.

“He’s still fighting. He’s still struggling with some seizures,” Burkhead said. “But his dad and Jack are actually coming out.

“We still do a bunch of events together back in my hometown in Plano, Texas. We have an event for Team Jack and the foundation. Every spring as well. I think the foundation’s almost raised $6 million for pediatric brain cancer awareness. It’s pretty awesome because it is a rare disease, it’s not heavily funded and it needs treatments, it needs research, it needs funding.”

It was Hoffman’s 69-yard touchdown run at Nebraska’s Red-White spring game six years ago that captured the imagination of the nation and won an ESPY for Best Moment.

“I think the first time we met, they were hoping I’d give him a little strength because he’s about to battle some tough times,” Burkhead recalled. “I feel like the opposite effect happened and maybe I did give him some strength, but I feel like he gave me strength as well. A huge inspiration seeing how much fun he was having at the stadium that day knowing what he was battling and what he was about to go through really put things in perspective in my life.”

Asked to describe Hoffman, Burkhead said: “Fun kid. Loves playing with his sisters, his family. He knows what’s going on with him, but he still enjoys life. He’s a kid. I try not to talk to him about it much at all, and really just try to have as much fun as possible.”

Hoffman has endured two surgeries, chemo therapy and a 13-month clinical trial when the tumor started to grow. He has taken as many as 14 pills a day to combat epilepsy.

After the Patriots beat the Chiefs in the AFC Championship in Kansas City, Hoffman congratulated his friend.

“Great game,” he said to Burkhead.

“He actually had a complication at halftime, had a seizure, honestly they were gonna go home but he’s like, ‘No I want to go back in the game, watch the end of it,’ so they come back in and saw the fourth quarter and overtime and had the pleasure of talking with him after,” Burkhead said.

Super kid at the Super Bowl.