Rutgers' Monangai Ready to be Best in the Big Ten

© Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The Big Ten Conference has kicked off the 2024 season with great anticipation thanks to four new teams joining the conference and an expanded College Football Playoff. With the Big Ten having six teams in the AP Top 25 this week, to say that some of the sport's top talent resides in the conference is an understatement. 

The running back position is no different. Names like TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins from Ohio State, Donovan Edwards from Michigan, Keytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton from Penn State and Jordan James from Oregon are some of the biggest names at the position in the country.

But there is one highly-skilled running back in the Big Ten that few people celebrate. This player is not on a video game cover. He is not on a team favored to make the College Football Playoff. But Rutgers' Kyle Monangai was one of the top running backs in the conference a year ago and he showed no signs of slowing down in the Scarlet Knights' opening game against Howard on Thursday.

While Monangai comes into the season unknown to many football fans, if he can improve upon his performance from last year he should be able to make a name for himself, potentially bringing Rutgers closer to a spot in the College Football Playoff bracket.

Monangai's Quick Start

It didn’t take Monangai long to show he was ready for the season as he had an impressive first game against Howard. Monangai scored his first touchdown of the season on a 7-yard rush with eight minutes left in the third quarter, giving Rutgers a 24-7 lead. The Scarlet Knights ultimately won the game 44-7.

Monangai played just under two and a half quarters and still managed to finish the day with 165 yards on 19 carries. He averaged 8.7 yards per attempt with 1 TD and a long of 39 yards. In Rutgers' first game of the season, Monangai proved he can run the ball well, which is required to win in the Big Ten.

Big Ten Rushing Leader

Monangai was the rushing leader of the Big Ten in 2023, finishing with 1262 yards. He finished in front of players like Michigan's Blake Corum, who had 1245 yards yet played two more games, and Penn State's Allen, who had 902 yards.

Monangai also led the Big Ten in average yards per game with 97.1. He came second in carries with 242, averaging 18.6 carries per game. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry, placing him fourth in the conference. The most impressive part of this, however, is that he did it all while playing four of the top defenses in the Big Ten last year in Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa.

Favorable Schedule

The 2024 season is the first without divisions in the Big Ten. Rutgers was disadvantaged under the divisional system as they were forced to play perennial buzzsaws Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State every year.

Now that divisions are gone, Rutgers has lucked out and many of the teams that used to be regularly scheduled are missing from the 2024 schedule. In addition to missing Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State, the Scarlet Knights also miss out on powerful newcomer Oregon. Since Monangai will not be playing many of the best defenses in the Big Ten, he should be able to have an even more impressive season this year than a year ago.

The 2024 season is now underway and the perennial Big Ten powerhouses are looking to sneak into the College Football Playoff. Anywhere from three to four Big Ten teams have been projected to make this year's bracket. Could this be the year Monangai carries the Scarlet Knights to a spot in the CFP? Monangai is entering the season as an unknown for the most part, but by the end of the season, it would not be shocking if he became a household name.