Experts have told the Chicago Bears over and over that their running back room isn’t good enough. Head coach Ben Johnson doesn’t seem to agree. What the team may lack in “star power,” he believes they make up for in competitiveness. Nobody can top this group in terms of self-motivation. Few exemplify this better than Kyle Monangai. Here’s a young man who was dogged for his lack of size and speed since high school and didn’t get any offers from the bigger schools in college. He goes to a downtrodden program and becomes their ace, carrying the offense to two productive seasons in the nation’s toughest conference.
Then, he was passed over until the 7th round of the NFL draft. People didn’t think much of him as a potential starter. Maybe he could become a decent backup. It seems they didn’t bother telling him. Since the Bears began practicing in the spring, the rookie said he stood out almost every day. That didn’t change in the second practice of training camp, where he drew reactions on a big run that was capped by a disgusting juke near the end zone. Even D’Andre Swift, his backfield mate and competitor, couldn’t help but praise him.
Kyle Monangai is a challenge-taker.
He seems to relish the idea of fighting uphill battles. The steeper the climb, the harder he works. There is almost a perverse pleasure in proving people wrong. Many great athletes tend to be wired that way. Michael Jordan was famous for it. Kyle Monangai may not have his elite-tier athletic ability, but having that kind of heart tends to carry you a long way in the NFL. The Bears can’t ignore him. Every time he steps on the field, something happens. Guys like that tend to see action sooner rather than later. It becomes a question of whether Roschon Johnson can hold him off. The veteran backup has also looked good in the early going. This could be the most entertaining competition of training camp. Kyle Monangai fired the first shot.
