Ohio State marching band prepares for football season opener

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Scarlet and gray fans are getting ready as Ohio State football returns in just one week. Come next Saturday, Ohio Stadium is going to erupt with the beloved sounds of the "Best Damn Band in the Land". NBC4 spent some time with the marching band to learn how much work goes into putting on their elaborate shows.

“There is a lot of outside work that people don’t see which is by far the hardest part but it’s something we all love to do. We enjoy doing it because the end product is the halftime show,” said Brody Hyre, one of the sousaphone squad leaders.

He says after tryouts in the beginning of August, it was go time. The band went straight into practices three times a day for two hours to make sure each member was prepared. “The first big thing that we do is script. A lot of people look forward to that. Doing the Script Ohio, learning the counts for that and then the ramp entrance,” said Hyre.

Clayton Callender is in his second year as drum major for the marching band. He says once classes began, their schedules only got even more packed. “We do classes in the morning. A little bit of the afternoon and then go to practice from 4:10 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. Then we just watch film after practice then do it again the next day,” said Callender.

Now with just days before taking the field, Callender and Hyre say it’s all about the finishing touches. “A lot of it is you learn to rely on each other. You have to count on your friends and row mates to pull their own weight and to know their dots but then a lot of it is we just repeat it, repeat it, repeat it,” said Hyre.

They say while a lot of hard work goes into it, it all pays off when they get to perform in front of thousands of people inside Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes kick off their season on Saturday, August 31 against Akron at 3:30 p.m.