“Fence the Garden” was a smart slogan. But Rutgers football coach Chris Ash and his young, hungry staff have more importantly backed it up, landing key New Jersey recruits and opening eyes around the state.

Ash, hired in December from Ohio State, has Rutgers in a terrific spot, already with 19 players verbally committed for its 2017 recruiting class, 13 from New Jersey and three from New York City. Rivals.com ranks the Scarlet Knights’ class at No. 11, Scout has it at No. 19. It’s obviously very early: players can withdraw their commitments, other schools will land big fish. But Ash has been on the job for just seven months, and he already has done a fine job of convincing local talent to stay home.

His pitch has been simple: Rutgers plays at the highest level in the country in the Big Ten East, it will develop prospects both academically and athletically, and it plays in the biggest media market in the world. And, better yet, kids can play in front of family and friends.

“Remove the logo, remove the name, if all those criteria are important to you, why not do it here at Rutgers, because it’s all true,” the 42-year-old Ash said he tells prospective recruits.

Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell said he believes Ash and his staff have taken advantage of the previous regime’s failures, promising a better tomorrow. There is no track record to frown upon. Ash comes from winning a national championship at Ohio State and being part of a winning tradition at Wisconsin. His assistants hail from winning programs.

“He’s undefeated, he’s never lost a game,” Farrell said. “There’s a big advantage to recruiting at a program that hasn’t had a ton of traditional success.”

“These guys are go-getters. They want to recruit, they live for recruiting. They’re out there putting in the work, putting in the effort. There’s a guy in the Big Ten East [Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh], who set the bar for effort pretty high. They’re matching that energy.”

A major factor has been Ash and his young staff — four of his assistants are in their 20s or 30s — developing relationships with local high school coaches, with whom Ash has an open door policy.

They can attend practices, watch workouts or visit at any time. He has made the rounds, organizing coaching socials and hosting informal meetings with local coaches. During its bye week this season, Rutgers will host a triple-header among New Jersey powers. Ash hired former New Jersey coach Rick Mantz as his director of high school relations, a position Ash created.

“Coaches here trust him, they trust his staff, they want to believe and get on board,” said Rich Hansen, the coach at powerhouse St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, whose star quarterback, Jonathan Lewis, has committed to Rutgers.

With all that said, Ash isn’t celebrating anything yet. He hasn’t won a game at Rutgers, and his staff hasn’t signed a player for 2017 yet. He has lost recruits he wanted.

“I don’t care if we’re in the first year or the fifth year, if we want somebody, we should go get them,” Ash said.

Yes, there has been an overwhelming positive response. Of course, that was part of the plan when he took over.

“The challenge is going to be [with] the momentum we created in the first six months is what happens in the next six months,” he said.

So far, everything has gone well. Coaches and recruits are buying into Ash’s vision, his promise of a brighter future in Piscataway. His staff is working hard and getting results. But when the games begin, the challenges really start.

“The bottom line is going to be if he can be competitive this year and in the future,” Hansen said. “It’s going to come down to winning.

“Then people will really jump on board.”

Basketball

St. John’s extended a pair of scholarship offers Thursday to a pair of rising seniors: Florida four-star shooting guard L.J. Figueroa and Pennsylvania wing Clifton Moore Jr.

Wagner offered a scholarship to Long Island Lutheran rising senior forward Chris Coalman on Friday, and Stony Brook offered rising junior guard Dallas Watson of St. Raymond on Thursday.