Musician may get shot with Buckeyes

It started as a bet with the loser buying the winner Chipotle.

Austin Brizee, a junior who plays in the Ohio State marching band, bet a friend he could kick a 55-yard field goal. It seemed a safe bet for his friend. Brizee had never kicked a field goal until this week. He played soccer, baseball and golf in high school. And he watched from the sideline of Buckeyes games during his two years with the band. But when enticed with the possibility of free burritos, he went for it.

“I kept going back and kept on going back and finally hit the 55yard one, and (my friend) happened to get it on film,” he said. “But we were just out there having fun.”

It might have gotten him more than free Chipotle.

The video was posted on the the marching band’s Twitter account, asking the Ohio State football team, “You guys need a kicker for Saturday?”

The team’s assistant director of player personnel, Eron Hodges, replied Brizee “definitely has a tryout invitation” sometime after team returns from Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl. A win vs. Clemson will put the Buckeyes in the Jan. 9 national title game, so a tryout likely would come after that.

Brizee said he’d probably have to quit the marching band if he made the football team — a rare accomplishment for someone who didn’t play the game in any sort of organized fashion in high school. But that’s a bridge he’ll cross if he gets there, he said.

“For the most part everyone just thinks this is crazy,” Brizee said of his friends’ reactions. “No one would have ever thought I would have gotten a tryout just from kicking field goals in the athletic center.” As for the free burrito? He said he’s still waiting.