BAD BOY MOWERS PINSTRIPE BOWL: RUTGERS VS MIAMI

December 18, 2023

Kyle Monangai

Yankee Stadium

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Press Conference

Q. Hey, Kyle. Just wondering for a kid from North Jersey, what's the excitement like playing in an iconic venue like Yankee Stadium for you and your teammates?

KYLE MONANGAI: It's exciting. It's right across the water. It's an historic stadium, historic venue. Nothing but excitement to have an opportunity to play there.

Q. Kyle, you have all these guys coming back now. What's it like to have all these guys for the bowl game? You see all these other teams have guys going in the portal, announcing for the draft, and you have so many coming back. What's your take on that?

KYLE MONANGAI: I think it's great for us. Like you said, a lot of teams are losing guys to whether it be draft or portal, and I think we've had a good turnout and being able to retain some of the core guys.

I think it's momentum. It's a good feeling to have going into this bowl game.

Q. A quick question for you is piggybacking off the last question. You're coming back next year for your senior year. Also Coach getting an extension. Can you just talk about the importance of kind of building this program and seeing guys come back and, of course, Coach coming back for an extended period of time?

KYLE MONANGAI: When I was asked about this, I just kind of spoke on it. To have this many guys coming back, I think it just speaks to the culture here. It just says that we're doing things right. Guys want to come back. We want to see this program win.

Made some strides this year in getting six wins, but it's obviously not the end goal for us. We think coming back for another year is going to give us another opportunity to make even more progress next year and see how many wins can get, closer to that end goal.

Q. You were saying recently how you felt like there was still more for you to accomplish in terms of production. How do you kind of -- I mean, obviously you had a huge season this year. How do you feel like you can continue to build on this and what you expect for yourself in 2024?

KYLE MONANGAI: For myself, I think it's just continuing doing what I'm doing, but with even more intensity, even more focus, and even more intentionality.

The major gains aren't really made in the obvious things. At this level, Big Ten college football, a lot of guys are doing the same things. A lot of guys are talented.

Where you make the strides and separate yourself from others I think is just in the small details. That's probably the one thing I can say for myself in terms of production.

Q. I just wanted to generally ask you where you think the success, both individually and as a team, came from this year?

KYLE MONANGAI: I think the success came from just a full programmatic buy-in. Not to say we weren't before, but there may have been a lot of guys that whether they didn't believe or they weren't all-in to what we were doing as a program. Probably may have held us back in a sense. I think this season and the offseason from January leading up all the way throughout the season we just had guys that -- we didn't put anything above winning.

The process was to be 1-0 at the end of every week, and everyone was committed to that. That mindset and that thinking was what was able to get us six wins and give us a chance in a lot of these games.

Q. Aaron Young entered the transfer portal, but before he did he stayed and hosted a player, a transfer player, this weekend. Can you just speak to what kind of player he is, what kind of teammate he was, and how he has helped you at the running back position?

KYLE MONANGAI: Yeah. As you guys saw, Aaron entered the transfer portal, but him as a person, he's one of the better guys on the team. Stand-up person. I can speak on his character. Great character and just a great overall person.

A great football player too, but overall and most importantly he's a great person. It's unfortunate and sad to see him go, but I understand why. Aaron is just always -- he was one of the first people I met when I came to the school as a 17-year-old kid coming out of high school, and he's been the same guy ever since I've met him. I wish him the best.

Q. My next question is, what's the vibe, the impression you're getting from friends, family, even friends on the campus about you guys playing at Yankee Stadium, and what kind of turnout do you think you're going to have? Because it is kind of like a home game for you guys at Yankee Stadium next week.

KYLE MONANGAI: Absolutely. I think it's just overall excitement. I think it's going to be a big and great turnout for a lot of Rutgers Nation to come out, and it's going to be like a home game. It's real close for us, and hopefully -- I think we're the away team, but it's going to feel like a home game for us, definitely.

Q. I missed the beginning, so sorry if you were asked already, but Coach Ciarrocca signed an extension, and he is going to be here long-term. As far as having a year under his belt here, working with a lot of you guys, how much do you think that could benefit you guys, having another offseason to work with him knowing a lot of his system? Just how much will that help the offense take another step next year?

KYLE MONANGAI: I think it's going to be greatly important to taking the next step. A lot of people say when you put in a new offense, the biggest strides you make are in year two of the offense.

So just another year under his belt and another year of work in the offseason. Everybody getting comfortable returning guys. It will be the same guys doing it over, great reps, and just doing it over and over is going to get people a better understanding, a better feel for the offense, and overall it's just going to allow us to play better.

Q. I know we've talked many times about the way people -- you've been overlooked throughout your career going back to high school, maybe even in college a little bit. I'm just curious if you could just talk about the motivation that that's provided you to get to this point.

KYLE MONANGAI: It motivates me, but it's not my sole fuel and how I play and everything. I think the motivation comes really just from my support system, my family. I've been playing football since I was in third grade. Watched my brother grow up playing football.

I've always thought of myself as one of the better players, and I've always bet on myself to show that, to prove that people on every level of football I've been at.

Through Pop Warner to middle school, high school, and even now in college, that hasn't changed for me. I just kind of carry that mindset, the attitude to everything I do.

Q. Kyle, just if you could touch on the development of your O-line this year and how you saw them take another step.

KYLE MONANGAI: They took major strides from last year to this year and then even just week to week. They're a very tight-knit group, and they work harder than a lot of guys that I know. They're just committed to seeing this offense succeed. With that mindset, they've made great strides, and I'm excited to see how they perform in this bowl game.