“I knew he was always thinking about retiring,” Dani Busboom Kelly said in the first week of February, after John Cook retired. The dust from John Cook’s sudden retirement, followed by DBK’s immediate appointment, had just settled. Yet, despite the chaos, the 39-year-old volleyball coach felt welcomed by Husker Nation.
It wasn’t surprising considering Kelly’s history with Nebraska. In fact, her clinching the head coach position triggered nothing short of homecoming celebrations from the fan base. After all, DBK won a national title with Nebraska as a player, and later worked under Cook as an assistant coach. Yet, there was one thing that Harper Murray did that truly helped her feel at ease.
In her interview with Lincoln Arneal and Jeff Sheldon, DBK elaborated on her TikTok appearance during the Hawaii trip. Arneal posed an interesting question to the former Cardinals head coach. “Did you really think that you were officially part of the Husker volleyball program when you filmed that TikTok?” asked the reporter, and Dani Busboom Kelly agreed.
“Yes. When she invited me to be in the TikTok, I was like, ‘Okay we’re gonna we’re going to be good here,’” Kelly said on the Volleyball State podcast. Although the trio chuckled at the fun exchange, filming a TikTok with Harper Murray and Andi Jackson was no laughing matter. That’s because filming TikTok with Coach Cook had almost become a ritual for the team.
Harper Murray was the one who got John Cook on TikTok, and he became an absolute star on the platform. Cook amassed over 100,000 followers without even posting clips himself. Yes, you heard that right. “Apparently Harper manages my TikTok account. I didn’t even know I had TikTok on my phone,” Cook said back in September 2024.
So when Murray asked Dani Busboom Kelly to film a TikTok with them, it was a big step toward strengthening the coach-player bond. However, Murray isn’t just stopping at DBK.
Harper Murray’s turned it into a Nebraska ritual
While Harper Murray helped Coach Cook establish a social media presence on a whim, things are different now. That’s because Dani Busboom Kelly isn’t the only other Nebraska coach she’s soft-launched on TikTok. That’s because she even recently helped with Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule debut on TikTok.
“I thought you hated TikTok???” Murray captioned her post with the football coach. Yet, that’s not all. The pair also posted a picture with Coach Rhule with the caption: “Me and bro.” Yes. The Huskers’ outside hitter addressed NU’s football coach as “bro,” and Rhule did not mind. However, Dani Bussboom Kelly did set one ground rule while filming the TikTok.
DBK revealed it took her “only a couple” while answering how many takes it took her to film the TikTok. “I just said I’ll be in TikToks, but I’m not doing any dancing ever. Nobody wants to see that,” she added. Will that change in the future? While we can’t say for sure, it seems Harper does have a way of persuading people to feel confident in front of the camera.
After all, Coach Rhule apparently “hated” TikTok, and John Cook had no interest before Murray opened an account for him. In fact, Cook pulled off a few dance moves during his TikTok reunion with Murray last month at the Omaha Supernovas game. So who knows? Maybe Dani Busboom Kelly will come around to the idea, eventually.
We believe it’s a possibility. Do you? Tell us in the comments below.
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