MISSOULA — On Thursday afternoon, a fifth Missoula Sentinel Spartan committed to the University of Montana football program, as running back and defensive back Soren Syvrud made the big announcement on Twitter.
Thankful and excited to announce my commitment to the university of Montana! 🐻🏈 #GoGriz #RTD @FBCoachShann @Coach_Hauck pic.twitter.com/PQLP71qNmi
— Soren Syvrud (@SorenSyvrud) December 3, 2020
Syvrud will join his Class AA state champion teammates Geno Leonard, TJ Rausch, Camden Sirmon and Jace Klucewich next year in the maroon and silver.
"They're my best friends so to be able to go to the next level with this group of guys is pretty special," said Syvrud. "We're all just really excited to have the opportunity and we know it doesn't come around often. We all jumped at the chance to go play for the Griz together and hopefully carry on a championship mentality that we had in high school."
According to MaxPreps, in the 2020 season, Syvrud carried the ball 85 times for Sentinel for 654 yards and six touchdowns while racking up 39 total tackles on defense as a defensive back, eight of which were for loss. Syvrud also caught eight passes for 97 yards and defensively had 1.5 sacks, three fumbles caused and two recovered.
On Thursday, Syvrud and Leonard were both named the Western AA defensive MVPs.
Syvrud said that he will be a preferred walk-on for the Griz in the fall of 2021.
However, the decision to play football in college is a new one. Two weeks ago, Syvrud told MTN Sports that he wasn't going to play past high school after initially receiving an offer from UM in July. However, the championship game win changed some things.
"After winning the state title, it only took me a couple of weeks to really realize how much fun I had and the relationships and everything that you build in football, and that's not something I wanted to leave," he said. "I just didn't want it to be over, you get five more years of football so I had to take the opportunity."
While it's a fresh decision, the idea of playing for the Griz has always been on Syvrud's mind.
"I've been a lifetime fan of the Griz," said Syvrud. "I remember waking up on Saturdays so excited to go to games and everything. To actually be in this position and be able to join the team is pretty awesome and something that I wished for my entire life and now that it's here and I'm going to be a Griz, it's almost a surreal feeling."
