Billings Senior's Junior Bergen announced his commitment to the Montana State University football program via Twitter on Wednesday afternoon.
Montana State coach Jeff Choate called Bergen the cherry on top of the sundae in a strong recruiting class headlined by Bozeman's Kenneth Eiden IV. While Bergen considered Northern Arizona and Air Force for a while, his decision ultimately came down to a choice between Montana and Montana State.
"Just their culture. They’ve got a winning culture over there right now. Their coaching staff was on me pretty heavy from the beginning and that kind of hit home. It was a difficult decision, but that was what was really the deciding factor," Bergen said. "I just want to go there and get to work early. Get on the field as soon as I can and just be the best me I can be."
Bergen was the most electrifying athlete in Montana during the high school football season, racking up absurd numbers as a dual-threat quarterback for the Broncs. Bergen threw for 1,186 yards and 13 touchdowns, but his biggest impact was felt on the ground where he ran for 905 yards and 17 touchdowns in 10 games.
Bergen was an all-state receiver prior to his move to quarterback. In his sophomore and junior years, Bergen racked up 150 catches for 1,733 yards and 19 touchdowns. He added four catches for 57 yards and a touchdown in 2020.
Montana State hasn't pinpointed where Bergen will play, but he'll have a shot on both sides of the ball. Bergen had 14 interceptions in his three years as a varsity starter.
"I’ve heard a whole bunch of different positions, so I’m just excited to see where I’m playing at," said Bergen. "I was originally recruited to play receiver, but coach Choate said I could be playing both ways, so we’ll see."
Bergen is joining a class loaded with recruits from Montana, including Neil Daly and Paul Brott of Billings West, who Bergen faced off against multiple times during his career.
"It was a pretty cool feeling. I’ve played travel basketball with a bunch of those guys and I’ve got good relationships with those guys. It’s a pretty cool feeling."
Bergen intends to study psychology at Montana State with the hopes of joining the field of sports psychology, similar to the work former Billings Senior standout Danny Desin does.
