Nebraska picked up more than a linebacker in the commitment of Pennsylvania prep standout Shawn Bodtmann.

He is also a straight-A student, a weight-room junkie and isn’t lacking in a singing voice, either. On Friday, a day after telling Husker football coaches he was committing to Nebraska, Bodtmann was in Maryland performing with his school choir.

He’s probably the only guy in the choir who can bench-press 225 pounds 12 times. He also runs the 40 in 4.62 seconds.

“A hard-nosed kid,” said Michael DeAntona, Bodtmann’s football coach at West Scranton (Pa.) High School. “Very well-rounded.”

At 6-feet and 205 pounds, Bodtmann  played both ways for DeAntona, working as a linebacker and rushing for 1,452 yards as a running back for a team that went 12-2.

DeAntona said Nebraska coaches want Bodtmann as a WILL linebacker.

Bodtmann, who also had offers from Syracuse and Army, committed to Husker coaches on Thursday and joins Lincoln Northeast star defensive tackle Cole Pensick in next year’s recruiting class.

Bodtmann is known to be one of about a half-dozen players out of Pennsylvania and Ohio that Nebraska coaches are interested in.

Recruited primarily by defensive coordinator Carl Pelini and linebackers coach Mike Ekeler, DeAntona said Bodtmann was most impressed by the straightforwardness of the Husker coaches.

“They answered all the questions. They didn’t beat around the bush with anything,” DeAntona said. “They’re blue-collar, hard-working, honest people, and that’s what Shawn was looking for.

“Then when he got around the team, he really hit it off with current players at Nebraska. He was really impressed with how current players at Nebraska talked about Bo Pelini and the coaching staff, and that was important to him. It felt like a family, and finding a family atmosphere was really important to Shawn.”

Bodtmann was on hand over the weekend, attending Saturday’s sold-out Red-White scrimmage.

Bodtmann told The Scranton (Pa.) Times-Tribune that Nebraska’s facilities blew him away.

“The stadium was filled for basically a practice,” Bodtmann told the paper. “The fans are incredible. The coaches are great. The players are great. It was amazing. Just to walk in and see the trophies and award winners was unbelievable. The tradition and pride in that program is mind blowing.”

Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.