HELENA — Across Montana, nine high school seniors inked national letters of intent Wednesday to play football at University of Montana. But only one of those nine in-state signees is continuing a family tradition by picking the Griz.

After announcing his commitment to Montana in June, Derek Opitz officially put pen to paper Wednesday afternoon in the Capital High School library.

“It’s been a long time coming, for sure,” Opitz said. “It’s really cool that I get to be a part of a successful program in FCS football. And just to be able to play for them is such a cool opportunity. I’m really excited.”

The Opitz family is closely connected with Montana football. Derek’s older brother, Hayden, is currently a redshirt sophomore linebacker for the Griz. Derek’s dad, Chad, donned the Maroon and

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