LINCOLN, Neb. — Harper Murray is smiling and laughing every day. And she’s playing her best volleyball in two seasons at Nebraska.

This alone lifts spirits among Murray’s teammates. Her happiness matters to them. The Huskers saw Murray spiral last spring amid public struggles with her emotional health. Two legal incidents derailed her offseason after Murray was named the top freshman in the Big Ten and a third-team All-American.

But her path is about more than rejuvenation.

The college volleyball community and Nebraska’s legion of fans have taken notice this fall of Murray’s bond with Nebraska coach John Cook.

“The connection that he has with Harper is extremely special,” senior co-captain Lexi Rodriguez said. “I think anyone can see it, whether you’re on the court or not.”

Murray’s rebound is defined in part by her uncommon relationship with the 68-year coach who stood up for her like the father she lost 13 years ago. Murray, 19, brings out a soft side in Cook that few have seen. He cares for her like a daughter.

“It’s unconditional love,” said Cook, a four-time national champion coach in his 25th season at Nebraska. “That’s really what it is. In this day and age, with this generation, you’ve got to have that if you’re going to coach.”

They star together in TikTok videos. She created an account for him and controls the content, using his phone. He revels in the millions of views.

“He’s always asking what we’re going to do next?” Murray said. “He loves it.”

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If the Huskers want to make a request of the coach — maybe it’s an adjustment to their uniforms or a tweak in the schedule — Murray gets nominated. “You ask” teammates tell her, she said, “because he’ll say yes to you.”

Cook doesn’t say that Murray is his favorite. But the Huskers know it to be true. And it’s OK. She needs him in her life.

@coachjohncook1 it aint easy being a cowboy 🤠#nebraskavolleyball #fyp #nebraskatok ♬ original sound – coachjohncook1

No. 2 Nebraska enters the final week of the regular season at 28-1 and perfect in the Big Ten. It has won 54 of 59 sets in league matches and plays at No. 4 Penn State on Friday, followed by a Saturday visit to Maryland. The postseason bracket reveal is on Sunday.

Murray’s 3.29 kills per set and 27 service aces lead the Huskers. She’s the No. 1 attacking option on the most balanced offensive team in the nation. Her defense in the back row as a six-rotation player has progressed more than any area of her game.

But three months ago, Murray was terrified to walk onto the court in front of Nebraska’s fans for the preseason Red-White scrimmage. She wondered what people would think, Cook said. What would they say about her? Would she get booed?

Back up eight months. Last December, Texas swept top-seeded Nebraska in the national championship match. Murray did not play well, especially in receiving the Longhorns’ serves.

At the news conference that followed the loss, she was despondent. A reporter asked her about the future.

“I think we’re going to win three national championships (in) the next three years,” Murray said.

The comment blew up on social media. Murray digested the reactions and buried herself in negativity. She fell into a depression that lasted for months. On April 5, she was cited for DUI in Lincoln. Less than a month later, she got caught on security camera shoplifting $65 of jewelry at a sporting goods store.

ESPN featured the rise and fall of Murray in an hour-long documentary, “No Place Like Nebraska.” It aired in August, tracking the Huskers’ 2023 season and the months after it.

Murray lost her spot on the U.S. women’s U21 team. Family members worried that she might physically harm herself. Her mother, Sarah, feared that Cook would dismiss Harper from the team at Nebraska. Every time Cook talked to Sarah for weeks, she sought reassurance about Harper’s roster status. Public pressure existed for him to dump her.

“The thought crossed my mind,” Harper said. “But I think I knew deep down that he wasn’t going to give up on me that easily.”

Murray was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2023 and her success on the court has continued helped by the support of head coach John Cook. (Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics)

Cook and Nebraska assistant coach Jaylen Reyes began to recruit Murray before she started high school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She attended the Huskers’ Dream Team camp as an eighth-grader and fell for everything about the Nebraska program

As Murray developed into the No. 1-rated prospect in the 2023 class, her recruiting intensified. She was named the Gatorade Player of the Year and had her choice of top schools. But she valued her initial impressions of Nebraska, and Cook won over her mom, in part, by making sure she knew he would watch over Harper and let Sarah know if her daughter made any poor decisions.

It’s a message that Cook tells the parents of every player he recruits.

“It’s one thing to say that,” Harper said. “It’s another to act on it.”

When her life veered off the rails this year, Cook did not waver.

“I learned a long time ago that you do everything you can before you give up on these kids,” the coach said.

Murray’s struggles strengthened Cook’s commitment to her — not to be construed as going easy on her. In the coach, Harper said, she saw a role model. He supported her, she said, “when other people probably wouldn’t have.”

“I look up to him,” Murray said, “and just the way he approaches every day in life. It’s different than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Cook helped Murray make a checklist of items required to restore her good standing with the Huskers.

She completed extensive community service and more than 100 hours of therapy, which continues in addition to court-ordered probation. Within the team environment, Murray worked to regain trust.

Cook often hears from former athletes and observers that they admire Murray’s growth. He marvels at her resolve. Many athletes in her situation, he said, would have left this year in search of a fresh start.

She couldn’t leave. Not after all that Cook had done to help her.

“He wasn’t happy with me,” Murray said. “But at the same time, he promised my mom that he would be there for me. And that’s exactly what he did. He held me accountable. But he gave me grace.

“I have a lot of love and respect for him. I wouldn’t be the person or the player I am without him. And I know that I owe a lot to him. One of my biggest goals in life is to make him proud, especially because I put our program through a lot. I put us in the gutter at some points.”

Murray’s father, Vada, died when she was 6. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008 and lived three years with the disease until age 43. Vada was a standout safety on the Michigan football team from 1987-90, playing in three Rose Bowls. He graduated to work as a police officer in Ann Arbor.

Harper holds only fragmented memories of Vada. But the absence of her father haunts her. She wears his jersey No. 27, just as her sister, Kendall, did with Michigan volleyball from 2020 to 2023.

The loss that Harper experienced has impacted Cook’s approach to their relationship.

“There’s a coach-player relationship,” Cook said, “but I also think there’s a … I don’t want to call it father-daughter, because I’m not her father. But it’s built on trust.”

Harper has seen their bond grow most in the way they communicate. The TikTok videos allow the public to catch a glimpse. But the roots of their connection run much deeper. On the court, she said, he’s tough on her. Harper asked Cook before this season as she struggled with confidence to ease up and show her more compassion.

He complied. But it was temporary.

“He can make me really mad,” she said. “But I know it’s because he wants what’s best for me.”

The moment last year that triggered Murray’s slide is coming up on its first anniversary. Cook said he’s not worried that she’ll suffer again in a similar way if the Huskers fall short in December. She’s more mature, he said. Her perspective has changed.

Murray said she’s as driven as ever to win a national championship.

“I feel like I have something to prove,” she said.

Murray wears tape on her left hand during matches. She marks the pinky finger with an “8” to honor Rodriguez, a guiding light for Harper, and the ring finger with “27,” the Murray family number. On the index finger, Harper writes “JC,” the initials of her coach.

“He’s the closest thing I have,” she said, “to a father figure.”

(Top photo: Dylan Widger / Imagn Images)