3 Guys Before The Game

What can we make of Saturday's loss by the Mountaineers in Stillwater? Are the Cowboys really good? Are the Mountaineers bad? Is the answer somewhere in the mIddle? Brad Howe, Hoppy Kercheval and Tony Caridi pull apart the Mountaineers 27-13 loss from all angles. The "Guys" also answer listener questions and calls. An unexpected debate on the personal foul called against WVU's Leddie Brown for spi...

The West Virginia University football team kicks off its 9th season in the Big 12 Conference on Saturday in Stillwater with more questions than answers. Both WVU and Oklahoma State have the typical early season unknowns, but are also navigating the new world of COVID-19. That means rosters are unsettled until final testing is conducted on Friday. Oklahoma State is already dealing with significant...

What did we learn from Oklahoma State's victory over Tulsa on Saturday? That's the question of the week for the WVU football team as it prepares to open Big 12 play this weekend in Stillwater. On this episode, the "Guys" begin to pull apart the story angles that will make this conference opener game very intriguing. Will the Cowboys be without their starting quarterback? Will former Mountaineer Jo...

No game. No Problem. The Mountaineers have a bye this weekend, but that doesn't mean the "Guys" are taking time off. On this episode, Brad pulls back the cover on the most productive surprise players from WVU's season opening victory. Andy from Columbus contributes a colorful expose on how Hoppy is actually Garrett Green. Text questions, queries and Big 10 bashing all come together quite nicely as...

It was the opening game performance that checked all the boxes. West Virginia's 56-10 thumping of Eastern Kentucky provided insight into this season's team but as expected many questions remain unanswered. The "Guys" provide their deep-dive into the numbers and individual performances from a most unique season opener. How much can we take from a rebuilding Eastern Kentucky team played in front of...

Game on! At long last the 2020 Mountaineer football season is ready to begin. On this episode, the "Guys" present their deep-dive into Saturday's matchup between the Mountaineers and Colonels of Eastern Kentucky. Brad, Hoppy and Tony share their thoughts and concerns and also answer listener texts and calls. Besides a victory, what should Mountaineer fans want from the opener? Those answers and mo...

With fingers crossed, the West Virginia University football team will open its season Saturday afternoon against Eastern Kentucky in Morgantown. There's little argument this season will be unique in so many ways. WVU will open its home schedule with family and friends only in the stands. It's just one of a multitude of changes caused by COVID-19. How will the Mountaineers react to an entirely new...

Like a fine wine, Rasheed Marshall is getting better with age. Sixteen years after taking his last snap at West Virginia, the 2004 Big East Conference Offensive Player of the Year still looks the part. Perhaps it’s not a surprise considering the Pittsburgh native is a successful personal trainer and model. On this episode, Marshall details a Mountaineer career that included an assortment of highs...

For the first time in five months classes have resumed at West Virginia University. Will football be far behind? That's just one of a myriad of topics Brad Howe, Hoppy Kercheval and Tony Caridi dive into on the 222nd episode of Three Guys Before The Game. The COVID-19 pandemic has reset the clock on college sports. The upcoming season is a collective redshirt year for players and programs. Will it...

After a 93 day hiatus the band is back together. Hoppy Kercheval rejoins Brad Howe and Tony Caridi to officially begin the dialogue on the 2020 West Virginia University football season. The “Guys” cover a wide range of topics including listener questions. How many games will the Mountaineers play? Is the current quarterback battle the quietest in school history? What’s the over-under on total game...

Tyrone Sally's career at West Virginia is perhaps one of the least told best stories in school history. The Chesterfield, Virginia native was a sea of calm in the most chaotic chapter of WVU's basketball history. He played for four coaches in his first year on campus. There were numerous opportunities to look for a more stable environment but he refused. The result was a magical time that produced...

Like a door to door salesman hawking vacuum cleaners, Owen Schmitt showed up on the porch of Milan Puskar Stadium on a cold December day with a VHS tape and a bunch of dreams. The tape did its job, and the pieces to one of the great underdog stories in Mountaineer football history began. Schmitt became the face of everything Rich Rodriguez was preaching. Blue collar mentality molded with alarming...

Mike Logan’s decision to attend West Virginia University was made more in spite than anything else. That’s just one of the many revelations the WVU Sports Hall of Fame member and Super Bowl champion shares on this episode of Three Guys Before The Game. From his days in Morgantown to his recent painful battle with COVID-19, Logan’s story is filled with educational and introspective thoughts on pers...

Steve Dunlap has experienced every aspect of West Virginia University football over the last five decades. On this episode, the WVU Hall of Fame member details his amazing journey from an undersized player at Hurricane High School to one of college football’s elite defensive coordinators. Dunlap’s insight provides a historical journey of how and why the Mountaineers blossomed into a perennial east...

Do you know who Avon Cobourne is? Sure, the easy answer is West Virginia University’s all-time leading football rusher. However, that’s just a tiny piece of a life story that’s both improbable and inspiring. Cobourne provides the background and details about a career that could have easily ended before it ever began. You’ll learn how he overcame homelessness, major injury, coaching changes and cha...

It’s been 13 years since John Beilein last walked the sideline as West Virginia University’s basketball coach. His last game ended with the Mountaineers hoisting the NIT championship trophy at midcourt of Madison Square Garden. In retrospect, Beilein’s last game could not have happened in a more fitting place. It was on that same chunk of hardwood that WVU became media darlings just two years earl...

Brian King says the five years he spent in Morgantown are the greatest years of his life. An under-recruited defensive back from Maryland, became a foundational piece of Rich Rodriguez’s rebuild of the WVU program and even met his future wife. You can understand why King’s love for WVU and the state of West Virginia still burns strong. However, King hesitated upon receiving the interview request t...

Can one conversation change someone’s life? Mike Baker says the answer is an emphatic “Yes”! The former WVU wide receiver details how a chance conversation in a garden as a teenager sent him down a path of success both educationally and athletically. As a member of West Virginia’s 1993 Sugar Bowl team that finished the regular season 11-0, Baker provides insight into the team’s success and explain...

He played the position that normally draws the least attention on a football field, and yet 35 years after his final game in Morgantown, Brian Jozwiak is still among the most memorable and beloved Mountaineers ever. Yes, he was talented, ending his career as a consensus All American and the seventh pick of the 1986 NFL draft. However, Jozwiak was able to pull off the rare feat of combining tremend...

Darris Nichols may be the quietest most productive player in West Virginia basketball history. Nichols’ unflappable on-court demeanor was the catalyst for Mountaineer teams that enjoyed NCAA tournament success under John Beilein and Bob Huggins. He was the silent assassin. On this episode, the current University of Florida assistant coach explains how a one-on-one victory against his father change...

Nearly 20 years ago quarterback Jake Kelchner helped lead the West Virginia University football team to a perfect regular season. The native of Berwick, Pennsylvania performed with a blue-collar mentality both on an off the field. On this episode, Kelchner provides an insightful and colorful chronology of his career. He provides specific detail into his Notre Dame enrollment and openly admits he w...

He may live and work nearly three thousand miles from Morgantown, but Rob Mullens' heart will never leave West Virginia. On the verge of becoming the longest tenured athletic director in the Pac-12 Conference, Mullens joins Brad Howe and Tony Caridi for a conversation on a number of topics. The "Guys" discuss the challenges of COVID-19 facing the Pac-12 along with Mullens' role as chairman of the...

College sports have been turned upside down and West Virginia University athletic director Shane Lyons is trying to navigate the path toward a new normal. On this episode, the "Guys" ask a series of questions regarding the resumption of practice and games. What will sports look like in the future? Will fans be allowed to watch the Mountaineers? Those are just a few of the many questions discussed...

ESPN and Chicago White Sox announcer Jason Benetti admits he may have shrieked the first time he heard the WVU Mountaineer blast his musket inside the Coliseum. That story is just one of many that Benetti shares in an entertaining and laugh-filled episode of Three Guys Before The Game. The humble Benetti shares his climb in broadcasting and details how he's been able to use his diagnosis of cerebr...

You like behind the scenes stories? The "Guys" have you covered. He's only 35 years old, but has already served coaching apprenticeships with Nick Saban, Bobby Bowden, Rich Rodriguez and Jimbo Fisher. West Virginia assistant football coach Travis Trickett tells the "Guys" his current employer, Neal Brown, has the same DNA as the great coaches he's watched in action. Trickett explains how his decis...