Cannon Valenzuela’s favorite sport is the sport in season. The only issue is he can’t also play the sport that’s out of season.

He hit .303 for the Jacksboro baseball team but missed all the 7-on-7 tournaments. Until the State Tournament in College Station.

“Legitimately, that was his first 7-on-7 tournament,” his father, Brian, said. “He was jacked up. He was ready to go.”

DCTF’s Director of Recruiting, Greg Powers, was scouting some Hearne High School recruits when a 6-foot-4, 200-pound man flashed over the middle on a post route and pulled down a contested touchdown catch. Every game, a new national recruiting analyst pulled up to the Jacksboro field to watch Valenzuela. Every game, he balled out.

“You had this huge, bigger-bodied receiver who looked like he was running routes like a slot guy,” Powers said.

While the spectators nudged each other and pointed at Valenzuela, Jacksboro head coach Casey Hubble was more impressed with how Valenzuela picked up a young sophomore cornerback who’d gotten burnt. The actual play? Hubble was used to it by now. Valenzuela had 1,573 receiving yards last season and led the 13–1 Tigers with 136 tackles. 

“He’s been making plays like that for several years now,” Hubble said. “It didn’t stand out as anything abnormal for me.”

Hubble’s known Valenzuela since he was born. He and Cannon’s father, Brian, coached at Denton Guyer when the school opened in 2005. Cannon looked up to Guyer’s All-American quarterback JW Walsh, who was also at the facility constantly with his father, head coach John Walsh. 

Cannon has followed Hubble and his father’s coaching career, from Breckenridge in junior high, to starting as a freshman at Canton and finishing his last three years at Jacksboro. 

After returning from College Station, Powers turned on Valenzuela’s junior year HUDL tape and realized there’d been a Division I athlete hiding in plain sight. 

“What I saw on in pads is even better than what I saw in 7-on-7,” Powers said. “It was a no-brainer for me, and that’s why we quickly elevated him to three-star status at DCTF.”

But Colorado State had done its homework before Valenzuela blew up at State 7-on-7. The Rams offered on May 24, and Valenzuela took his official visit on June 14. Brian, who played Division III football, told his son that whenever he’d stepped on campus as a recruit, he knew it was home. That first night in Fort Collins, Cannon came into his room.

“Dad, you know how you told me I’d know?” Cannon said. “This is it. This is the place.”

Cannon said he came to the realization after seeing how close the players were and talking with head coach Jay Norvell.

“Coming up as a coach’s kid, the family aspect is big for me,” Cannon said. “They all felt like family. They were all playing games together, making jokes with each other.”

Valenzuela plays wide receiver and safety for Jacksboro, but Colorado State is recruiting him at linebacker. Defensive coordinator Freddie Banks loves recruiting athletes. When his Montana State team made the FCS National Championship in 2021, seven of the 11 starting defenders were former quarterbacks.

Valenzuela may not play QB, but he does just about everything else. Along with the football and baseball prowess, he averages 15 points and just under 7 rebounds a game for the basketball team with a 6-2 high jump and 44-5 triple jump in track.

“The best linebackers in college are the most athletic ones,” Powers said. “From watching his tape, he has the demeanor to stand up to the physicality that’s needed on defense.”