BOZEMAN — It will take Sean Opland more than six hours, on a good day, to get from his childhood home to the campus of Montana State University.

Then again, when home is Troy, Montana, there aren’t a lot of easy drives.

Opland, a once-in-a-generation athlete in the tiny town of Troy, signed a National Letter of Intent to play college football for the Bobcats on Wednesday, becoming the first Trojans football player to sign with a Division I university in 25 years.

On Opland’s freshly-posted biography on the Montana State athletics website, new Bobcats coach Jeff Choate joked about his new running back’s remote hometown.

“He was surprised I knew where Troy was,” Choate said.

Himself a small-town native — Choate went to high school in rural St. Maries, Idaho — Choate bonded with Opland over their shared backgrounds and convinced him to stay committed even after the firing of the head coach (Rob Ash) and many of the assistants who recruited him.

“He was a young man who was committed already and stayed with us,” Choate added on the Bobcats website. “He’s a very dynamic player … I see him as a guy who will add immediate depth at the running back position and a ton of value for us on special teams.”

Opland played quarterback, running back, linebacker and safety, punted, handled kickoff duties, and probably would have taped ankles and cooked hot dogs, for the Trojans over a sensational prep career that produced mind-boggling statistics.

In just his last two seasons, Opland amassed 3,463 all-purpose yards and threw for another 537. He rushed for an average of more than 9.3 yards per carry (2,671 yards on 286 carries) and recorded more than 100 tackles each season.

Opland earned all-state honors each of his last three seasons and has been part of the Trojans’ basketball and track teams as well. Opland won Class B state championships in the 200-meter sprint as a senior and 400 as a junior.

The last football player from Troy to play Division I football was Blaine McElmurry, who stared at Montana and spent parts of three seasons in the NFL.

Choate signed 19 athletes in his first recruiting class.

Choate says his goal was to land players who are taller, longer and more athletic.

He says he believes he accomplished that with this class.

The new Bobcats include quarterback Tyler Bruggman, who is transferring from a junior college, and offensive lineman Alex Neale, who is coming over from UNLV.

Choate’s recruits include 10 from Montana.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.