Next up in our series of breaking down each position on Rutgers roster, we have the running backs. Rutgers has one of the deepest backfields in terms of running backs in the entire Big Ten, including the Big Ten’s leading rusher in 2023, so this post will cover the four on the top of Rutgers’ depth chart.
The Rutgers Running Backs Preview
Kyle Monangai
At the top of the Rutgers running back room is unsurprisingly Kyle Monangai. Last season, Monangai was the Big Ten leading rusher with 1,262 yards. He also had eight rushing touchdowns and had eight catches for 78 yards. There’s not much more to say about Monangai. He’s a great runner, a decent enough pass catcher, and he can even throw a monster block when he needs to. His greatest strengths are the stocky way that he is built and his ability to make a hard cut. Monangai can make an aggressive cut into a gap and shoot through a hole like few in college football can. It will be interesting to see what he can do next season.
Samuel Brown V
Brown has been a solid backup at running back for the nights during his tenure. During his freshman campaign in 2022 with the Knights, he contributed heavily to the running game when Kyle Monangai was having a rough patch to his season and even usurped the starting role for a brief period before he got injured. He had 374 yards on 86 attempts and three touchdowns in seven games, averaging around 53 yards per game. Keep in mind he did all of that when he was a freshman and when he had limited playing time in at least three of those games.
During his sophomore year, he played more of a supporting role but still had 216 yards and two touchdowns. Monangai drastically improved and got the starting role back but Sam proved he is more than capable of taking over when Monangai leaves.
Ja’shon Benjamin
Benjamin, who was a freshman last season, was definitely used more as a specialty back than an all-around utility running back. He was often used on runs to the outside because of his running style and speed. Most of his playing time came at the beginning of the year against Wagner and Temple where he scored the only two touchdowns he would score on the year. He had his most carries in his first ever collegiate game versus Northwestern where he got 46 yards on 20 attempts. So far he has proven himself to be a solid role player on the team but he needs to develop his in-between-the-tackles game to progress further.
Rutgers has developed a reputation for having a bruising running game but having Benjamin’s ability to run outside the tackles might prove useful in the playbook as a way to stop defenses from keying in on the box.
Gabe Winowich
Last on our list is Rutgers freshman running back Gabe Winowich. Winowich has never taken a snap at the college level however was rated as a four-star recruit during his time at Notre Dame High School. He was the No.10 player in New Jersey for his class and worked alongside Rutgers recruit AJ Surace during his time in high school. Winowich ended his senior season with 120 carries for 1,161 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns. On top of that, he added 10 catches for 175 yards.
Winowich has tremendous talent but he will most likely need a year or two to translate it to the college landscape, although don’t be surprised if he starts to move up the depth chart very soon.
