South Dakota ATH Shawn Hammerbeck commits to Nebraska

Nebraska has gained its 15th commitment in the 2025 class, and he resides inside the 500-mile radius that Husker coaches want to lock down.

Today the Huskers picked up the pledge of Shawn Hammerbeck, a three-star athlete out of Winner, South Dakota, which is about a five-hour drive from Lincoln. The 6-foot-7, 250-pounder plays tight end and defensive end for his high school team, but Nebraska projects him to be an offensive tackle at the college level while still holding potential to play on the D-line.

Nebraska offered Hammerbeck on April 13 and hosted him for an official visit on June 14. The Huskers won the recruitment over a handful of other Power 4 programs that made Hammerbeck a priority, like Texas Tech, which hosted him for the last OV the June 21 weekend before the dead period, Minnesota and Kansas State. Michigan State, Kansas and Oregon State also offered.

Hammerbeck fits the multi-sport athlete trait Nebraska likes to recruit. On the basketball court, he averaged 15.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game as a junior. Last spring in track, he took home the Class A gold medal in the discus (personal-best and school-record mark of 163 feet, 3 inches), while also placing fifth in the javelin (153-11). His personal-best throw in the shot put is 50 feet even.

Winner is a small town of around 3,000 in south central South Dakota that has a strong football tradition with nine total state championships.

Hammerbeck is the third offensive line commit in Nebraska's 2025 class, joining Salt Lake City (Utah) West three-star offensive tackle Brian Tapu, who committed to Nebraska on June 27, and Honolulu (Hawaii) St. Louis three-star center Houston Kaahaaina-Torres, who committed on June 30.

Nebraska's recruiting efforts have dipped into South Dakota more often lately. The Huskers landed offensive lineman Jason Maciejczak, who played his senior season at TF Riggs in Pierre, in the 2023 class.

The Huskers also have offers out to 2026 Brandon Valley offensive lineman Hudson Parliament, 2026 Sioux Falls Washington receiver Dveyoun Bonwell-Witte and another TF Riggs product in 2027 tight end Cooper Terwilliger.

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