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5 Rutgers players to watch against Iowa football (2023 game)
Kyle Monangai leads Big Ten in rushing yards
IOWA CITY — The Iowa-Rutgers series has not exactly been a competitive one.
Iowa has won all three previous games in the series, outscoring the Scarlet Knights, 71-17.
Saturday’s game at Kinnick Stadium has the potential to be much more competitive. Iowa is only a 1.5-point favorite despite playing at home.
Here are five Rutgers players to watch against Iowa football on Saturday:
RB Kyle Monangai
Kyle Monangai has been a key part of Rutgers’ offensive success.
The junior from Roseland, N.J., has rushed for a Big Ten-high 903 yards through nine games while averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
He has rushed for 100-plus yards five times this season, including in Rutgers’ last three games.
He had 159 rushing yards on 24 carries against No. 1 Ohio State and was part of the reason why the outmatched Scarlet Knights had the lead as late as the third quarter against the No. 1 team in the country.
Monangai was the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and Doak Walker Award’s weekly honoree after he rushed for 143 yards on 16 carries, which equates to 8.9 yards per carry, against Virginia Tech.
He had three touchdowns against the Hokies, including a 55-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
LB Mohamed Toure
Mohamed Toure is on the watch list for the Comeback Player of the Year Award, and it not hard to see why.
The linebacker from Pleasantville, N.J., missed all of the 2022 season with a knee injury.
Then this season, he is tied for second on the team with five tackles for loss and third on the team with 2.5 sacks.
He had his first interception of the season last week in Rutgers’ loss to Ohio State.
Toure was voted as a team captain this season.
DL Aaron Lewis
Aaron Lewis has been a menace on the defensive line although, unlike Toure, it is no surprise after last year.
He was an all-Big Ten honorable mention last year and named co-MVP of the Rutgers defense at the team banquet.
He was named to the preseason watch list this year for the Bednarik Award, which goes to the best defensive player in college football.
This year, Lewis’ six quarterback hurries are a team-high, and his three sacks are tied for the team lead.
Lewis originally committed to Michigan and enrolled in the spring before his freshman season, then transferred to Rutgers in the summer.
QB Gavin Wimsatt
Iowa is not the only team in this week’s matchup to experience some adversity at quarterback.
Rutgers’ Gavin Wimsatt has experienced some ups and downs as the starting quarterback in Piscataway.
Wimsatt has completed only 49 percent of his passes while throwing eight touchdowns and five interceptions. The last time he completed more than half of his passes was Sept. 30 against Wagner.
But Wimsatt has been dangerous on his feet, as Indiana learned the hard way a few weeks ago. Wimsatt had 143 rushing yards and three touchdowns in Rutgers’ 31-14 win over the Hoosiers earlier this month.
That included an 80-yard touchdown run on a read-option play that pushed the game out of reach in the fourth quarter.
Wimsatt has rushed for at least 40 yards in four games this season.
WR Christian Dremel
When Rutgers’ passing game is clicking, Christian Dremel offers a big-play threat on the outside.
He had a 69-yard touchdown reception against Michigan on the third play of the game and a 35-yard reception against Ohio State.
Other times, though, Dremel is not as much of a factor in the passing game. He had only two receptions for 14 yards last month against Indiana.
Dremel’s 28 receptions and 363 receiving yards are team-highs. Other receivers to watch include JaQuae Jackson and Isaiah Washington.
Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com
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