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Less than an hour after Kyle Monangai was drafted by the Bears at No. 233 overall, the Rutgers running back had already assumed the mindset of a pro.

Having learned from his older brother Kevin, who was an accomplished running back at Villanova and had NFL stints with the Eagles and Vikings, Monangai understands just how much it takes to advance to the next level.

"It's been a mentality I've carried out [during] this process already, but it's just the professionalism of it," Monangai said. "Now I'm in the National Football League. I'm playing with that shield. I represent an organization, playing for the Bears. It's not college anymore. It's definitely not high school, so you have to take a pro mindset and come to work every day."

While Monangai has leaned on his brother heavily throughout his football career and will continue to do so, he created his own legacy during his stint the Big Ten through the past five years.

The New Jersey native broke out in 2023 when he tallied 1,262 yards and was selected to the All-Big Ten Second Team. He continued to excel in his final season while rushing for a career-high 1,279 yards, the second-most by any Big Ten player.

His 2024 success earned him consensus First-Team All-Big Ten honors, the first player to do so in Rutgers history. Through the pre-draft process, the Bears took notice of Monangai's all-around skill.

"Physical, tough runner," general manager Ryan Poles said. "High, high, high football and personal character. We believe he can come in and compete. We like his contact balance. And again, just the physical nature of how he plays football, and his pass protection is really good as well."

Monangai also prides himself on two traits: pass protection and ball security.

"The quarterback is the most important person on the field from an offensive perspective, so protecting the quarterback comes first," Monangai said. "You've gotta protect the quarterback if you want the ball, is kind of the philosophy I was raised on, so every chance I could get to protect my quarterback, make a proper block – it doesn't always have to be a knockout, but I always have a level of intensity that I think is unmatched that I bring to that."

When it comes to ball security, Monangai was one of the leaders in college football in that category, tallying 669 career carries without a fumble, a Rutgers record. He credits his coaching staff for emphasizing the importance of taking care of the ball as well as his extra work in that area.

"Protecting the football as an offensive player, anybody that carried the ball, it was the number one thing [at Rutgers]," Monangai said. "The way you see me carrying the ball throughout my whole college career, that's something that was preached something that I worked hard on, grip strength with my hands and things of that nature. So ball security definitely means a lot and having zero career fumbles is something I definitely say with pride."

Monangai intends to bring those and other traits to Chicago's rushing attack and is eager about his opportunity to work with the Bears offense.

The running back met with the Bears once during the pre-draft process for an informal interview at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, which he described as a positive experience. Monangai has also started to form a relationship with new running backs coach Eric Bieniemy.

"I just got off the phone with him not too long ago," Monangai said. "We spoke briefly when we played recently when he was at UCLA, so [I] got to speak with him a little bit [today]. He said that he appreciated my game, and we just caught up on how it's funny how the world works and now I get to play for him, so I'm excited."

The rookie also expects to absorb teachings from veteran running back D'Andre Swift. Monangai remembers Swift as a rookie and described him a player who "does a lot of things very well."

Along with the members of the running backs room, Monangai is most excited to work with head coach Ben Johnson. While he is still trying to wrap his head around all the talent he's joining, he knows one thing for sure: he wants to play for Johnson.

"I can't wait to get started learning the playbook and get out on the field, because what I've already seen with his past work and what he's done as a an offensive coordinator, I'm just excited," Monangai said. "Everyone's telling me how blessed I am to be under a Ben Johnson-run team. That's the way I feel just having heard the news 10 minutes ago. I'm excited to get to work, meet him and learn the playbook and all those things."