PISCATAWAY -- Rutgers coach Chris Ash will most likely name Chris Laviano or Hayden Rettig the team's starting quarterback early in training camp this August after the redshirt juniors finished spring practice locked in a tight battle.

But Ash doesn't want incoming freshman Tylin Oden to arrive on campus this summer expecting to be a backup.

"We're going to recruit players that are coming here to compete for jobs. If we're not recruiting those types of players then we're not recruiting the right type of players," Ash said. "I want every player that we recruit to come in here with the mindset that they're coming to take somebody's job."

With two veterans at the top of the depth chart and the need for the 6-foot-5 Oden to add weight, a redshirt seems likely. But Oden is up 10 pounds to 185 pounds since starting a Rutgers-issued workout program after national signing day, and Ash is a long way from making redshirt decisions.

"I get asked all the time, 'Are you going to redshirt (a player)?' I don't know. We'll find out after training camp is over," Ash said. "I'm not going to sit in here in a recruiting meeting and tell a kid, 'You're going to redshirt.' Because what happens to them: They don't train as hard, they're not as focused, they're not as excited because 'I'm going to redshirt and then I'll develop after I get there.' I want everybody to come in here with the mindset and the way the train that 'I'm coming to take somebody's job.' "

The fact that neither Laviano nor Rettig seized the starting job in spring practice has left the door open for Oden, a dual-threat quarterback from Tennessee.

"If we have a veteran (quarterback) that everybody trusts, he's demonstrated over a long period of time that he is the starter -- you'd love to have that situation. We don't have that right now," Ash said. "Whether it's the quarterback position, (defensive back) position, offensive line position -- any newcomer that comes on our campus, we're going to evaluate them to see if they can give us a chance to win games. If they can, they're going to be given an opportunity to play."

Dan Duggan may be reached at dduggan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DDuggan21. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.