The incredible and inspirational journey of Tyler Jensen

[player_tooltip player_id="26178" first="Tyler" last="Jensen"] had just started his sophomore year at La Cueva High School in the late summer of 2018 when he discovered a lump near his armpit. He went to the doctor and had it checked out. There he heard the word every person dreads: cancer. Technically, Jensen was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which attacks the Lymph nodes and affects the body’s immune system, limiting the body’s ability to fight infection. Doctors found cancerous lumps in his armpits, neck and chest. That diagnosis jumpstarted a remarkable 2-1/2 year journey for Jensen in which he has overcome myriad obstacles placed in his path. Today, he’s healthy and, like every other high school football player in the state, ready to get back on the gridiron. “When I was diagnosed, I didn’t even know what a lymphoma was,” Jensen told Prep Redzone New Mexico recently. “As a teenager, you never even think about cancer or look into it. But as soon as I was diagnosed, my thoughts turned to how I was going to beat it and how I was going to get healthy. I had to keep a good mindset.” Soon after the cancer diagnosis, Jensen began chemotherapy treatments every three weeks at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. Those continued until January 2019 when he was declared cancer-free. While Jensen sought to live as much of a normal life as possible during that four-month stretch, undergoing the treatments forced him to miss the 2018 football season when La Cueva went undefeated and won the Class 6A state championship. “It was very difficult because I had earned a spot to play for the varsity on Friday nights,” Jensen said. “Winning the state championship was awesome, but it was tough to watch from the sideline or watch the game on TV when I was doing my chemotherapy.” Jensen, though, competed for La Cueva in the spring 2019 track and field season. Four months after beating cancer, he finished third at the state meet in the javelin. “That was pretty cool way to get back and let everybody know I wasn’t just a cancer kid but an athlete as well,” Jensen said. Jensen was eagerly looking forward to returning to the Bears in the fall of 2019 when more misfortune struck: During a preseason practice, he suffered a broken fibula (calf bone) and underwent surgery, missing the first half of the season. His celebrated return occurred in mid-October against La Cueva’s chief rival, Eldorado. Jenson would eventually rush for 549 yards and four touchdowns on 74 carries, an impressive average of 7.42 yards per attempt. He had two games of 100+ rushing yards. “Everybody on the team was really excited when I started playing again,” Jensen said. “They got to watch me when I was sick and then they watched me again on the field. It was a very positive environment.” Between the illness, the leg injury and the COVID-19 pandemic, Jensen has played in just six games since the end of the 2017 season when he was a freshman. As a result, he is one of the most underrecruited prospects in the entire state. After a brief contact with Friends University, Jensen was offered in late November by the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. “I’ve been talking with the Puget Sound coaches and building a relationship,” Jensen said. “I was very blessed to receive the offer. It’s a great feeling knowing they want me to be a part of their program. It’s a big relief that somebody believed in me and recognizes my potential.” “They offered me during a Zoom meeting when I was with my parents. Without the injuries, I personally believe I would have more offers if I had played in more games because I would have more film to show coaches and prove to them that I am strong enough to play and good enough to play at the next level." A story in the local paper a week before Christmas erroneously stated Jensen had committed to Puget Sound, but that’s not the case. "While I do have an offer and am extremely grateful for the opportunity, I have not yet decided where I will attend college in the Fall of 2021," Jensen tweeted on Dec. 18. Last summer Jensen and his family moved to Rio Rancho and he enrolled at Cleveland High School, where he should be a key part of a powerful Storm offense when the spring season – hopefully - kicks off in late February. He is penciled in as a running back. Jensen, though, insists football wasn’t a factor in his decision to transfer. “The transfer had nothing to do with academics or sports,” Jensen said. “La Cueva is a great program and produces great athletes every year in all types of sports. We just wanted a change in environment for my family and I. We wanted a fresh start for my final year. “I know there have been all kinds of rumors. People think I just went to Cleveland for sports. But why would I do that in the middle of a pandemic? People don’t know the true reasons. We were looking to rent a new house and we found a great location.” https://twitter.com/TylerJenson3/status/1333128800549289984 https://twitter.com/TylerJenson3/status/1326693714593423363 https://twitter.com/CHSStormFB/status/1344772013945204737 https://twitter.com/TylerJenson3/status/1297697499814088706