Eagles locker room: Cleats for cancer causes, hope for reunion with the Ringo dog, and a viral, dancing father

Cam Jurgens was a Nebraska kid who loved the Cornhuskers and dreamed of one day playing football at the school. So when 7-year-old Jack Hoffman, a Nebraska kid like Jurgens who loved the Cornhuskers, scored a touchdown in the 2013 Nebraska spring game and created an ESPY-winning moment, a 14-year-old Jurgens was already familiar with the story.

Hoffman was a childhood brain cancer patient who formed a relationship with the football program in 2011 through running back Rex Burkhead. The Team Jack Foundation has remained part of Nebraska football, and Jurgens has been a frequent supporter of the organization that raises money for childhood brain cancer research.

Last week, the Eagles center once again wore the Team Jack logo on his cleats during the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats campaign.

“So many kids are affected with pediatric brain cancer, and the fact that they have to go through that, it’s not really just affecting the kids, it’s the whole family,” Jurgens said. “It’s a big deal, and they do some really good work and raise a ton of good money.”

» READ MORE: Check out the Eagles' special shoes — and charities — for My Cause, My Cleats

This past summer, Jurgens participated in the third annual Team Jack golf outing and has supported the foundation at other events. Last year, the Team Jack cleats Jurgens wore went for $10,000 at an auction. The winning bid was for $5,000, but someone offered to match and double the contribution if the cleats went to Hoffman.

Hoffman is now a student at the University of Nebraska Kearney in a pre-law program and is still dealing with the impact of cancer. According to the foundation, his family learned this fall that Hoffman’s tumor grew significantly and “finding a suitable treatment is proving challenging.”

Jurgens said some of the foundation’s money had previously gone toward developing a drug that Hoffman himself was taking.

That, Jurgens said, was one of the many cool parts about supporting a foundation and cause that hits close to home. The annual spring game, like the one Hoffman scored in, was always a big deal to him.

“Now I get to live that out and help,” Jurgens said. “I get to have some cleats and basically do nothing, and I get to raise money and help people. It’s not like I’m doing much, but it’s so cool how much it means and it’s cool that we get to do it.”

» READ MORE: Eagles vs. Panthers predictions: Our writers make their picks for Week 14

Cornerback Kelee Ringo will also be wearing cleats supporting a cancer cause.

Ringo, whose mother survived triple negative breast cancer, will wear cleats that support The V Foundation. His mother’s name, Tralee Hale-Ringo, will be written on the shoes.

“It’s a constant reminder that any battles that my mom has fought in life, there’s no comparison to anything I’m going to go through on the field,” Ringo said. “I just use it as motivation. It’ll stick out to me every time I look down.”

Right now, Ringo is also supporting his mother as she deals with the loss of the family’s 10-year-old Shih Tzu, Mali, who, according to surveillance video released by police, was taken from a Port Richmond Target store by four young adults and a child while Hale-Ringo was in the store’s bathroom.

A reward is being offered for the dog’s return.

“Just trying to keep her in a good mindset,” Ringo said. “Hopefully people do the right thing. I feel like that’s the best thing I can do, keep having a positive mindset. Our family doesn’t think we lost our dog completely yet.”

» READ MORE: How two framed Saquon Barkley photos ended up near the Eagles offensive linemen’s lockers

Not only can Milton Williams feel the support from his family back home in Crowley, Texas, he can also practically hear them all the way from Philadelphia.

Williams’ twin sister, Mia, uploaded a video to TikTok on Monday of her father Milton Sr. emphatically celebrating Saquon Barkley’s 25-yard rushing touchdown in the Eagles’ victory over the Ravens.

In the video that has since amassed 167,500 views as of Friday afternoon, Milton Sr. “hit the Quan,” a dance popularized by the late Rich Homie Quan, perhaps in reference to an abbreviated version of the star running back’s first name. He also pretended to call Jalen Hurts and his son on his cell phone to offer advice, implying that he had done it leading up to the touchdown, too.

According to Williams, his father’s boisterous excitement is nothing new.

“Man, y’all just getting a little sneak peek on how he is watching football games, for sure,” Williams said. “He’s amped up. He likes to see us winning. Likes seeing me be successful out there. He’s just proud of me. They all enjoy it. They always have fun.”

He also has experienced his father’s passion firsthand. Of course, Williams can’t sit alongside him to observe his own football games.

But Mia played AAU basketball growing up, and Milton Sr. was just as engaged in his daughter’s contests.

» READ MORE: With his incredible season, Saquon Barkley is chasing Eric Dickerson once again. He isn’t the only one.

“I always got to see him in the crowd,” Williams said. “He, definitely, that’s where I get my ... game mood or whatever. I kind of get that from him. That intensity, that aggression, I get it from him.”

That intensity has been working for Williams — the 25-year-old leads Eagles defensive tackles with five sacks this season. According to Next Gen Stats, Williams leads all defensive tackles who have taken a minimum of 150 pass-rush snaps with a 14.8% pressure rate. He has benefitted from the double teams Jalen Carter has drawn. Williams generated five pressures against the Baltimore Ravens on one-on-one matchups.

“If they’re going to keep sliding him every time, I like my chances one-on-one,” Williams said. “I put it on tape the past couple of games. If you’re going to keep doing it, then I hope you got somebody that’s going to be able to stop me one-on-one. If not, then it’s going to be the same thing.”