How Rutgers football's Kyle Monangai went from under the radar to among Big Ten's best

PISCATAWAY – Kyle Monangai’s ascension from an under-the-radar recruit to a star running back with Rutgers football and the Big Ten’s leading rusher has surprised plenty of people.

But Christian Dremel isn’t one of them.

The Scarlet Knights wide receiver, who’s known Monangai since before they were even high school teammates at Don Bosco Prep, has watched Monangai bulldoze through defenses, move piles for chunks of yardage and make ferocious blocks for years.

“Literally if you put film on from when he was in eighth grade,” Dremel said, “it probably looks pretty similar to how he runs the ball now.”

Monangai’s tough style of running has helped drive a Rutgers offense that has improved considerably since last season, a turnaround that has helped the Scarlet Knights reach six wins and traditional bowl eligibility for the first time since 2014.

But Monangai, who has rushed for 903 yards and seven touchdowns through nine games, now has a chance to become Rutgers’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Jawan Jamison eclipsed that mark in 2012.

Monangai’s next chance to move closer to 1,000 will come on Saturday when Rutgers plays Iowa at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes have the seventh-ranked rushing defense in the Big Ten (120.6 yards allowed per game), but Monangai ran for 159 yards against Ohio State, which is allowing 114.4 yards on the ground per contest.

“For me it’s just been great to be able to contribute to all the success we’re having,” Monangai said. “It’s a team sport, obviously it’s an all-around effort, all the guys on the offense. For me I’m just excited I’m able to be a big part of it. But like I said, it’s a team sport so it’s all of us doing our job well.”

Kyle Monangai's rise within Rutgers football

For Monangai, this season is the culmination of years of hard work and patience.

The Roseland native wasn’t highly recruited. Rutgers and California represented his only two Power 5 offers. But Greg Schiano, shortly after he returned as the Scarlet Knights head coach, liked what he saw on film and received positive feedback from those he talked to about Monangai.

Monangai committed to Rutgers quickly after receiving an offer.

“I think it shows that if you come and you love football, and you're willing to pay the price – because it's not easy, it's really hard,” Schiano said. “But if you're willing to pay the price that you can be successful, and be successful at the highest level, and Kyle has demonstrated that.”

It’s been a steady climb.

He ran for 235 yards in 2021, then led the team with 445 yards last season.

Monangai this season reached that mark after five games. He’s rushed for at least 100 yards in five games, including each of the last three.

“I think it’s just attention to detail and just execution as a whole as an offense,” Monangai said. “For me, I guess the turnaround may seem like I did something different but I just focus on the small details, try to take all the coaching points I can take, whether it’s (running backs) Coach (Damiere) Shaw, (offensive coordinator) Coach (Kirk) Ciarrocca, Coach Schiano and try to apply it to my game and study hard as well. That all kind of takes care of itself on Saturday.”

Schiano said Monangai has always been a diligent worker off the field with his preparation, but that level of preparedness allows him to thrive even more in Ciarrocca’s system.

“I think what’s happened is the offense that Kirk’s installed here allows you to really hone in on what you need to do at your position,” Schiano said. “And I think Coach Shaw has done an unbelievable job teaching those guys how to film study within this offensive structure.”

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And for Dremel, who saw Monangai play back in when he was with the Montclair Cobras in eighth grade, watching Monangai put in the work to get to this point is nothing new.

“He’s highly intelligent, not only as a football player but as a person,” said Dremel, who leads Rutgers with 363 receiving yards and three touchdowns. “Off the field he’s a really smart guy. In the meeting room he’s highly intelligent and his football knowledge and IQ is definitely really high. But his work ethic is second to none.”

Growth of Rutgers football's offensive line under Pat Flaherty has paved the way

The growth and improvement of Rutgers’ offensive line has also helped. A unit that had been inconsistent in recent seasons has largely stabilized under coach Pat Flaherty, even if there’s still plenty of room for growth.

Monangai called the difference since he arrived in 2020 “night and day.”

“We take a lot of pride blocking for everyone. Kyle’s a special back but we have a lot of running backs on our team that are also just as talented. Kyle does his job, we do our job, everyone has a good day when we can run the ball well,” right guard Curtis Dunlap said. “Kyle’s just getting the blocking he deserves.”

Monangai still has three more games to reach the coveted 1,000-yard mark – though two of those games are against tough defenses in Iowa and Penn State.

But that Monangai even has this opportunity once again reflects the notion that recruiting stars and rankings aren’t the full story.

Monangai received a Big Ten chance and took advantage of it by putting in the work. That’s the message he relays to younger players who reach out for advice.

“I just say, ‘You’ve got to control what you can control. Keeping your head down and working is all you can control, so go 110 percent at that,’” Monangai said. “It’s not worth your time, your energy to concern yourself with things you can’t control. Just keep working and everything else will take care of itself. If you keep to that, hopefully it’ll work out for you. If not you know you did everything you can to get as far as you could get.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers football: Kyle Monangai's rise to top of Big Ten