After a competitive tryout inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, The Ohio State University Marching Band has selected its drum majors for the 2025 season.

Joshua Ford, a rising fourth-year student, is the 66th drum major of the Ohio State Marching Band, and Brian Speckman, a rising second-year student, is assistant drum major. Ford and Speckman were among five candidates who competed — all current members of D-Row, the band’s drum major training squad.

Each candidate performed the traditional pregame ramp entrance (including the high strut from the north side of the field, the backbend and the goal-post toss), an individual twirling routine set to music and a series of five high aerial tosses. Judges included previous drum majors and members of the band staff, and student musicians from the spring Athletic Band and 2024 Marching Band provided the musical accompaniment.

Ford, an aviation major from Gahanna, Ohio, has been training to be the drum major at Ohio State for over seven years. 

“Being able to be a part of this program for so long and to look up to the head drum major for years, it’s great seeing that hard work pays off. Knowing that I will be able to help continue to give back to this program and organization for years to come is very rewarding,” Ford said. 

Speckman, an accounting major from St. Marys, Ohio, talks about how we prepared for this moment. 
“I went out every day at the same time and practiced like every day was tryouts. It really helped me prepare for today, and I am excited that all of my hard work has paid off and I get to help lead this marching band.”

Speckman continued, “My mom brought a whole bunch of my extended family to the tryouts today, which was unexpected and really comforted me. Being able to have friends and family from my life here to encourage me was really special.”

Looking forward to the first game of the season, Ford talks about his excitement: “After we got done singing Carmen Ohio, one of the first groups that came over to congratulate me were this year's i-dotters. Seeing them all so excited and ready to live out their dream, it’s something that I am so grateful to be a part of.” 

The honor of being the drum major for The Ohio State University Marching Band now runs in the family for Ford. Brian Berendts, 1992-93 drum major, is the uncle of Ford. “I have a picture of me holding a baton with Brian when I was two years old. Knowing that he was there whenever I needed him was very special for me.”

Ford and Speckman are the first two students to have secured their spots for the 2025 Marching Band. All others will tryout in August.