Report: Rutgers RB Kyle Monangai out vs. Minnesota with injury, DE Wesley Bailey lost for season

Rutgers running back Kyle Monangai won’t play Saturday vs. Minnesota, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The Big Ten’s leading rusher from 2023 suffered an undisclosed injury vs. USC prior to the bye week.

Not only that, Rutgers lost DE Wesley Bailey for the season. He led the team in sacks last Fall.

“Sources: Rutgers will be without star tailback Kyle Monangai against Minnesota today,” Thamel wrote on Twitter. “He left the USC game early with an undisclosed injury last week. Rutgers is also losing star DE Wesley Bailey, who led the team in sacks last year, for the remainder of the year.”

In eight games this season, Monangai has 172 carries for 931 yards, 10 touchdowns and 5.4 yards per carry. He was on pace to surpass his conference-leading numbers last season. In 2023, he ran 242 times for 1,262 yards, eight touchdowns and 5.2 yards per carry.

As a member of the Class of 2020, Monagai was a three-star recruit out of Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 46 overall prospect in the state, the No. 152 running back in the class and the No. 1,916 overall prospect in the class.

The Rutgers’ offense was definitely more efficient in recent weeks, but the Scarlet Knights are on a four-game losing streak following a 4-0 start to the year.

“Well, I think we’re getting better every week,” head coach Greg Schiano said of the offense. “You know, even in the Nebraska game we did some good things. We just didn’t score points. And obviously you’ve got to score points to be an effective offense. But I think we’re getting better, and that’s the key, right. The nose is pointed up. You just have to keep it there. You have to keep getting better every day and where that stacks up against a really, really good Minnesota defense, that we’ll find out on Saturday.”