Rutgers football star Kyle Monangai believes in the direction of the program. It was a major reason for his decision to return in 2024.
For Kyle Monangai, his return for the 2024 season is about the unfinished business he needs to take care of at Rutgers. But Monangai isn’t chasing a place in the record books among the all-time greats at Rutgers or even a better slot in the NFL draft.
Instead, Monangai is hoping to return to help Rutgers football take another step in their rebuild and continue the progress they’ve shown this year.
Monangai is the face of the 10 players who are returning to Rutgers for a final season of college football. Had he declared for the NFL draft, he had the potential to go in the opening three rounds. It is safe to say that his draft stock was projected to be the highest of anyone who did return to Rutgers.
There is no doubt that Monangai left some NFL money on the table for opting to return.
But his return, especially as the Big Ten’s leading rusher, is an obviously huge benefit for the program’s continued rebuilding efforts. Monangai is not just a highly productive player, but he is a player with laudable character, known for his unquestioned work ethic and tenacity in the weight room.
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His decision for a last dance, along with the nine other players who are coming back, is poignant because the purpose isn’t just to better themselves for the NFL draft. It is about finishing a mission at Rutgers.
“Made some strides this year in getting six wins, but it’s obviously not the end goal for us,” Monangai said on Monday during a press conference for the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl.
“We think coming back for another year is going to give us another opportunity to make even more progress next year and see how many wins can get, closer to that end goal.”
He finished his junior year with 1,099 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. In his first season as a starter, he made quite a jump in production this fall.
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His rushing total from his first two seasons of college football? Combined, Monangai rushed for 680 yards.
His production in 2023 was nearly double his first two years of college football.
But even bigger than that for Rutgers (6-6, 3-5 Big Ten), Monangai played a huge role in bowl eligibility for the program, something that the Scarlet Knights haven’t done since 2014. It was an attitude change, Monangai said, that started in January within the program and led to Rutgers having their most successful season since their first year in the Big Ten.
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“I think the success came from just a full programmatic buy-in. Not to say we weren’t before, but there may have been a lot of guys that whether they didn’t believe or they weren’t all-in to what we were doing as a program – probably may have held us back in a sense,” Monangai said.
“I think this season and the offseason from January leading up all the way throughout the season we just had guys that — we didn’t put anything above winning. The process was to be 1-0 at the end of every week, and everyone was committed to that. That mindset and that thinking was what was able to get us six wins and give us a chance in a lot of these games.”
Kyle Monangai had a tremendous 2023 season for Rutgers and finished with the most rushing yards in the Big Ten. Scroll down and check out some of the best photos from his time at Rutgers!