Kyle Monangai had a big block, and plenty of other big moments for Rutgers football this past Sunday.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Gavin Wimsatt didn’t see Kyle Monangai’s big block in Sunday’s season opener, but the Rutgers football quarterback remembers hearing the reaction from the crowd and knowing that something must have happened. It wasn’t till in the locker room, after the game, that either Wimsatt or Monangai got a good look at what was a truly impressive block by the Rutgers running back.
Monangai’s efforts extended beyond just one play as he put in a strong performance in helping Rutgers to an impressive 24-7 win over Northwestern in what was the season opener for both programs.
But ‘The Block’ was all people wanted to talk about after the game.
The play came early in the second quarter. With Rutgers in third-and-long, Monangai was lined up next to Wimsatt, who was in the shotgun. Monangai’s responsibility was to pick up any blitz from Northwestern.
What he did next was a violent and devastating block on linebacker Xander Mueller. A block that simply, and with all due respect, leveled his opponent.
“When I hit him he was blitzing the A-Gap. I stepped up trying to meet force with force and I was able to put him down,” Monangai told Rutgers Wire this week.
“And yeah, I figured it was a big hit but then when I saw the replay, I realized it was a really big hit. So it was fun to see.”
Mueller, for what it is worth, is a tremendous linebacker. He is one of the top returning players in the Big Ten at his position. Last year, he had 87 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
Monangai didn’t see the replay on the video board and didn’t get to see his highlight until he was back in the locker room celebrating Rutgers’ win.
Despite a big crowd at SHI Stadium and plenty of noise, the thud of Monangai’s block was heard throughout the stadium.
“After the game, I saw the replay and I was like, dang, like, I really I really put a number on him. But yeah, I was just in the moment and I saw a blitzing guy and stepped up and made the block,” Monangai said.
“I heard the crowd so I was like, ‘It must have been big,’ but right then I was kind of in the moment. I didn’t hear it myself, you hear a bunch of thuds in a play.”
All day Sunday evening following the game, Monangai’s block and Ian Strong’s touchdown pass were the buzz on social media. Early in the week, NFL analyst Geoff Schwartz broke down the block.
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Schwartz is an analyst for FoxSports and on SiriusXM.
“It’s always great to get recognition from people like Geoff Schwartz and everything like that, but, you know we’re focused on Temple right now,” Monangai said.
“It was a great thing but it is in the past. And I take pride in my pass protection, obviously. Hopefully, I can get another clip like that on Saturday night.”
Monangai got the start on Sunday and ran for 49 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. He also had one catch for 20 yards.
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It was an impressive afternoon from the solid junior running back, especially with Samuel Brown V and Aaron Young out injured for the home opener. It was also a chance for Monangai to make a statement with his performance.
“We have a whole bunch of talent, top to bottom and we all just feed off each other to get better,” Monangai said
“And that’s the best thing I love about us is that we’re all just hungry to get better. And I feel like as we get better as a running back room, we get better as an offense. You know, we’re a big part of our offense, all of us and I think that if we continue to get better then we can take our offense as far as we want to go.”
