Ilona Maher's dance partner pens 2-word reaction to Harper Murray & Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule's playful 'acceptance' to join DWTS

Nebraska icon Harper Murray recently created a dance TikTok with Matt Rhule, the head coach of the Nebraska Football team. Through their Instagram post, the Huskers shared a hilarious promotional image announcing Harper Murray and Matt Rhule's joining the DWTS show, which attracted a response from Ilona Maher's DWTS partner, Alan Bersten.

Bersten is a notable professional American-Latin ballroom dancer and choreographer. Rugby icon Ilona Maher participated in the 33rd season of DWTS with him and clinched the second position. In 2019, he won the 28th DWTS season with a television personality and model, Hannah Brown.

Murray shared a glimpse of her dance session with Rhule a few days ago on her X account. Following the duo's TikTok, the Nebraska Athletics official Instagram account released a humorous promotional picture of Harper Murray and Matt Rhule, mentioning that they have accepted the invitation to perform in the 'Dancing with the Stars' show. The Huskers mentioned:

“BREAKING: Following @mattrhule1’s Tik Tok debut with @harpermurrayy, the duo has accepted an invitation to headline Dancing with the Stars premiering later this summer."

Bersten shared his thoughts on the news of Murray and Matt Rhule joining the show. He wrote:

“LOL! Hi”

Screenshot of Nebraska Athletics Instagram post | Credits: IG/huskers

Under Rhule's tutelage, the Cornhuskers football team won the Pinstripe Bowl last season. He joined the Nebraska football program as a head coach in 2023 and won Sporting News Coach of the Year and Big 12 Coach of the Year awards in 2019. Harper Murray's boyfriend, Heinrich Haarberg, is a senior and plays with the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team as a tight end.

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Harper Murray shares her take on the Nebraska Volleyball transfer portal

Harper Murray at the 2024 Division I Women's Volleyball Semifinals - Source: Getty

Harper Murray is a notable player who has earned multiple accolades throughout her collegiate career. In 2024, she was the NCAA Lincoln Regional Most Outstanding Player and was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team and AVCA All-America Second Team.

She recently appeared in a post-game interview with AVCA Hall of Famer and former head coach John Cook on Hurrdat Sports. During which she shared her thoughts on Nebraska volleyball's transfer portal, as no player has used it. She mentioned:

“It's just the fact that we trust him to put us in good hands. So I think that just goes to show our trust for him and our coaching staff and they're all still staying. So that means a lot to us and we still have the same core group. So it's just nice to know that we're still going to have that same core group and we can still keep that culture.” She shared [2:40 onwards]

In 2023 and 2024, the prominent outside hitter was named to the AVCA All-Region Team and All-Big Ten First Team.