Taylor Doll talks with Rutgers running backs coach Damiere Shaw to give us the lowdown on rookie Chicago Bears running back Kyle Monangai
On her latest Making Monsters podcast on our 2nd City Gridiron channels, Taylor Doll is joined by Rutgers running backs coach Damiere Shaw to give us the lowdown on rookie Chicago Bears running back Kyle Monangai. Coach Shaw was one of Monangai’s mentors during his time with the program, and they discussed his development, his strengths as a runner, his fabulous ball security, and what led to his 2,500 rushing yards in the last two seasons.
“And then ‘23 and ‘24 is when he really broke out, but he’s always been a smart guy,” Shaw said about Monangai. “He’s always been a student of the game. He’s always been an incredibly hard worker and a super competitor, which has been cool to watch him evolve as a football player.”
The early part of Monangai’s career was spent behind Isiah Pacheco, now with the Kansas City Chiefs, and that helped make him the player he is today.
“You hear the old saying, iron sharpens iron, and I think that situation with Kyle being behind Pacheco really helped shape Kyle’s work ethic, his demeanor, his approach to a more business-focused mentality. I mean, when you watch Pacheco play the game, Pacheco practiced like that, okay? He practiced 100% all the time, no matter if we were in week one or week twelve.”
Coach Shaw continued, “And Kyle exemplified that same work ethic and those same practice habits, which I tell these young guys all the time in recruiting. It’s like, what you see on Saturday is just a byproduct of the work that’s put in from Kyle on Monday through Friday.”
Check out her show in either of the embeds below for the entire interview with Coach Shaw.
Podcast version:
YouTube version:
Our 2nd City Gridiron Podcast Channel is available on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Audacy, and other popular podcast platforms, so be sure to hit subscribe wherever you get your audio. Our YouTube home is also called 2nd City Gridiron, so subscribe there for our podcasts and other video content.