Huge 10 leading rush Monangai go back to Rutgers

• Pete Thamel, ESPNDec 11, 2023, 11:34 AM ET

Tailback Kyle Monangai, the Big Ten’s leading rush in 2023, informed ESPN on Monday that he prepares to go back to Rutgers in 2024 for a fifth season.Monangai had a breakout year in 2023, beginning all 12 games for the Scarlet Knights and earning second-team All-Big Ten honors from the media and from the coaches.Monangai balanced

5.1 yards per bring in 2023 and scored 7 touchdowns. He completed the season with 1,099 backyards, which put him ahead of Michigan’s Blake Corum(1,028)and Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen (984). Rutgers finished the season 6-6 and has a chance to complete with a winning record for the very first time because 2014, the school’s very first season in the Big 10. Rutgers plays Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 28. Rutgers took clear steps forward this season,

signing up wins over Northwestern, Michigan State, Virginia Tech and Indiana.Monangai played a big role in Rutgers ‘enhancement

, getting 165 backyards in a blowout of Temple, 159 yards in a loss to No. 1 Ohio State and 3 touchdown runs in the 35-16 win over Virginia Tech.The news of Monangai’s return is the most recent in a flurry of key players choosing to return to the school. Coming back from a defense that finished No. 19 nationally in total defense are linemen Aaron Lewis and Wesley Bailey and linebackers Tyreem Powell and Mohamed Toure.Although not all decisions have actually been made, Rutgers is expected to return

majority of its defensive starters from among the Big 10’s top defenses.Rutgers’offending identity was based in the ground attack, as Monangai was the very first Rutgers back to hurry for more than 1,000 backyards since Jawan Jamison in 2012.