AUSTIN, Texas -- Before Thursday's free Chris Stapleton concert, Texas junior Griffin Shelley checked the student-section line for Saturday's game against Ohio State. Finding no one there, he texted his friends to claim a spot, then joined them after the concert.

Shelley's group of current and former students has held the front of the line since Thursday night. In the sweltering Austin afternoon outside Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Shelley, senior Conner Roll-Bush, graduate student Kez Dunn and others sat under umbrellas in lawn chairs. Graduate Andrew Eason delivered Chick-fil-A, while A.J. Forrest dropped off a portable fan.

The tradition began in 2022 against Alabama, when Dunn met many of the friends and they camped out together. The No. 4 Longhorns lost 20-19 to the top-ranked Crimson Tide, but the group had a blast and has returned for major games ever since.

No. 1 Ohio State is their biggest game of the year, so they arrived earlier than usual. Fellow sophomores Preston Powe and Jack Maddox are part of the tradition, alongside Roll-Bush, known as "Bevo Hat Guy".