Although Brock Hoffman has been playing in Dallas for the last three seasons, his road to the NFL wasn’t that great. He had to face some tough challenges in the NCAA, where he played for Coastal Carolina and then Virginia Tech. While you might wonder if this is related to his gridiron duties, it is not. During his NCAA days, Hoffman had to face some tough challenges because of his mother’s brain tumor.

So Brock Hoffman requested the NCAA for his waiver so that he could help his ailing mother. However, his appeal was surprisingly rejected, which left the Hoffman family fighting for themselves. Brock Hoffman’s father later explained, what actually happened that led to the NCAA’s eligibility waiver rejection.

Who is Brock Hoffman’s dad?

Growing up in a small city named Statesville in North Carolina, Hoffman started playing college football for Coastal Carolina. But there was a bit of a problem with the distance. Hoffman had to travel 4 hours to play for them, which wasn’t really ideal, considering his mother was still sick.

So, he went to the NCAA to ask for a waiver. But they denied it because his mother still hadn’t quit her job to focus on her recovery. However, Hoffman’s dad, Brian Hoffman, had the perfect reason for it. Working as a recruiter for an anonymous company, the Hoffman’s didn’t earn enough to cover medical bills, “We have almost a million dollars of medical bills. She’s a teacher and doesn’t have enough years to get full pay for her pension. We simply couldn’t afford it.” Well, this reason wasn’t enough for the NCAA to give what Hoffman asked for.

Seeing them not lending a hand of support to Hoffman’s mother’s health struggles led to her husband going after the NCAA. Going back in 2019, Brian revealed to The Athletic how their system is flawed, “I just think that the process itself is flawed. The NCAA needs to know that the process is flawed. But it’s the NCAA. They don’t care, They don’t care what I say. They don’t care what you say. But their process is flawed. And here’s a guy with a legitimate reason.”

When the whole system was against the Hoffman’s, they came out with their own solution. Brock Hoffman soon transferred to Virginia Tech, which was closer to their home.

Who is the Cowboys’ center’s mom?

Stephanie Hoffman found out about her non-cancerous brain tumor back in 2017. Although she went through multiple surgeries that saved her life, Stephanie didn’t recover completely. She ended up having facial paralysis while going blind in her left eye and deaf in her left ear. So Hoffman left Coastal Carolina after spending two years with them. And joined Virginia Tech, which was considerably closer to his home. He didn’t have to travel 4 hours anymore; instead, it came down to 2. This helped Hoffman to take his mother to doctor’s appointments.

His father couldn’t handle everything alone, as he was mostly on the road traveling for his job. While things didn’t change on the side of the NCAA, Virginia Tech gave a warm welcome to Hoffman. As Brian Hoffman shared in 2019, “The outpouring of support from Virginia Tech and Virginia Tech fans and family and friends is unbelievable. And even the support around the country from different people. It’s not going to change anything, but it’s heartwarming.”

Now, after almost 5 years, Brock Hoffman has come a long way in his career. And he would surely have enough now to help his mother fight health struggles while helping the Hoffman family.