Some guys are just easy to root for.

Three such individuals will be suiting up for the Grove City College football team this fall — and could play key roles as the Wolverines look to snap a 20-game losing streak from the past two seasons.

Slippery Rock High School graduate Jeff Croll, Karns City grad Tyler Kepple and Butler graduate Rob Kunst may all be starting for Grove City this season. They’ve all taken different paths to get there.

Croll suffered a serious knee injury during his senior year in high school. He was going to be a two-way starter for Slippery Rock that year.

Now a senior at Grove City, he’s stuck it out through the program’s rough times while trying to secure a starting spot. After making 19 tackles in a back-up role last year, Croll is primed to start at outside linebacker for the Wolverines in this his final season.

Kepple was a Mr. Everything at Karns City. He excelled in football, basketball and baseball. He threw for 1,830 yards and 22 touchdowns in his final season as the Gremlins’ quarterback.

Since coming to Grove City, Kepple has further demonstrated his versatility — this time primarily as a football player.

He got on the field as a freshman, completing 40 of 69 passes for 310 yards and a pair of touchdowns. But Kepple was only one in a rotation of seven quarterbacks to throw at least 30 passes for the Wolverines over the past two years.

Kepple was switched to defensive back last season and saw most of his action on special teams. Now, this year, he’s moving to wide receiver and could be a starter.

Another guy who could be catching passes for Grove City is Kunst. He’s only a sophomore, but figures to be Grove City’s starting tight end.

Kunst didn’t even play football at Butler as a freshman or sophomore. His prime sport was volleyball. He went out for football his junior year because a lot of his buddies were playing.

He even had to sneak off to practice at first because his parents didn’t want him to play.

Kunst wound up leading Butler in receiving his senior season. He got on the field at Grove City as a freshman and caught a pass for 16 yards.

During Kunst’s three years of football to date, his respective teams have won a total of three games.

Three local players, all overcoming different obstacles in recent years, not quitting on themselves or their teammates despite some rough sledding in terms of on-field results.

Now all three may be put in a position to make a difference in the fortunes of a college football program trying to turn a positive corner.

Again, it’s easy to root for these guys.

Andrew DiDonato, the offensive mind behind South Fayette’s football success in the WPIAL, is now at the controls for the Wolverines.

Keep an eye on this trio. They may just be beginning to write an interesting story.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle