Rutgers’ Kyle Monangai unexpected Big Ten Conference rushing leader

IOWA CITY — The Big Ten Conference’s leading rusher isn’t Blake Corum at Michigan or TreyVeyon Henderson of Ohio State.

Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen is not that dude, either. Nor is either of the terrific tandem of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen at Penn State.

No, the Big Ten’s top running back from a statistical standpoint is a guy coaches at the major college level believed wasn’t good enough to play at the major college level. Except Greg Schiano.

When Schiano returned four years ago for his second stint as head coach at Rutgers, he came across video of a kid named Kyle Monangai. He was tearing it up for New Jersey power Don Bosco Prep, but his college offers were from Ivy League schools and others in that non-Power 5 realm.

“All these coaches coming through Don Bosco, they’d kind of tell me ‘You’re a great player,’ but whether it was my size or my speed, (they’d say) ‘You’re not a fit for this program,’” Monangai told the Rutgers athletics website. “It was frustrating.”

Schiano was intrigued by what he saw, though, got a ringing endorsement from Don Bosco’s coaches, offered Monangai, and you know the rest.

Rutgers plays Iowa at Kinnick Stadium at 2:40 p.m. (CT) Saturday afternoon (Big Ten Network).

“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 ... that you can be successful,” Schiano told local reporters earlier this week. “And be successful at the highest level. Kyle has demonstrated that ... I think it’s been well-chronicled that he wasn’t the most highly recruited guy. But he’s our kind of guy and he’s doing a great job.”

“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.”

The 5-foot-9, 210-pounder has 903 yards and seven touchdowns rushing this season. He’s averaging 100.3 yards per game.

Monangai has run for 100-plus yards in five games, including 159 last week in a loss to Ohio State. He had 165 in a Week 2 win over Temple.

“I just say you’ve got to control what you can control,” Monangai said. “Keeping your head down and working is all you can control, so go 110 percent at that. 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.”

Monangai, a junior, played five games on special teams in 2020, rushed for 235 yards and four touchdowns in 2021, then 445 and two, respectively, last season. This has been gradual improvement from a player in a program that has a development philosophy.

Just like its opponent Saturday.

“They coach their guys. They're developing them. They're making them better,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. “A lot of the same guys we played last year are playing now, and they're playing better. That's a sign of good coaching.

“(Schiano) is a guy that always had a pretty good idea of what he likes, what he wants, what he doesn't like, not afraid to stick to it. Not that he won't adjust it or tweak it, but he doesn't bend to somebody saying this or that. He just does what he thinks is right, and it's paying off for him.”

That Schiano recruited Monangai certainly was right and is paying off.

“I think the mentality I have as a running back just comes from growing up and playing football in north Jersey. It’s called tough-guy football for a reason,” Monangai said. “I think it’s just attention to detail and just execution as a whole as an offense. 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 ... and try to apply it to my game and study hard as well. That all kind of takes care of itself on Saturday.”

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com