Rutgers coach Chris Ash

Rutgers coach Chris Ash talks to his team during a spring practice in April 2016.

(Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Ever since he changed his ways of teaching tackling techniques in 2014 by following the lead of Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and introducing to his Ohio State charges a shoulder-leverage tackling method that is similar to the style used by helmet-less players in rugby, Chris Ash has been willing to tell anyone willing to listen why he believes it's the safest -- and best -- defensive approach in football.

"Why do I speak about rugby-style tackling? Because I want to promote the game of football,'' the Rutgers football coach said in a recent interview with NJ Advance Media. "The game of football right now is under attack because of all the concussion issues that have been brought up. I want people to know this is still a great game, it's a safe game, we can teach it better to be safer and more effective, and if I can help get that message out there to help the game grow and prosper, then I want to do that. That's my obligation to everybody out there.''

It's why Ash is spending part of the weekend in Philadelphia, speaking at a clinic Friday evening on a rugby-inspired tackling system that, at its core, focuses on keeping the head out of the tackle.

On Sunday, the Rutgers coach is expected to take part in a hands-on clinic, teaching the rugby-tackling method to youth football and rugby players on the practice fields surrounding Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa., along with former Eagles standouts Mike Quick and Ike Reese and New England Patriots defensive back Nate Ebner.

"There's no doubt that Coach Ash is one of the leaders in the movement to guide programs at all levels of the game to a more effective and safer tackling method,'' said Ron Lloyd, president of Atavus, a Seattle-based company specializing on providing a comprehensive, rugby-tackled system for players. "Atavus football is flat-out the premier football-tackling provider. What our goal is is to have every coach be rugby-tackle trained. At the end of the day we believe that everyone, whether it's a head coach, an athletic director, an administrator, a parent or players alike, should be asking the same question -- are my coaches rugby-tackle trained. To me that is our goal; that is our vision; that is what coaches like Coach Ash are committed to helping evangelize and create momentum for it across the game of football.''

At first glance, the announcement seemed curious to say the least.

"Rutgers University football coach Chris Ash is serving as a keynote speaker at a Tackle Clinic which is being held in conjunction with the College Rugby Championships in Philadelphia,'' read the press release.

But Ash, who spent this past week in Seattle watching the Seahawks' tackling methods during the team's Organized Team Activities sessions, said his reason for speaking at the rugby-tackling clinic is simple:

"Basically the guys at Atavus asked if I'd be willing to talk about why we rugby tackle, how we benefit from it, why I think other people should take a look at it,'' said Ash, who spent the spring shelving the Scarlet Knights' "bite the ball" approach -- a mantra used by former head coach Greg Schiano and his disciples to remind players to get their head across the body of a ball carrier -- and installed the rugby-style tackling method.

"I've been a low-tackling guy for a while,'' Ash said. "I had really never thought about rugby style while I was coaching in the past. In spring 2014 I started to see the parallels. I said, 'If I can teach and coach it similar to the way to how the rugby guys are doing it, then I think we can be more effective than what I was teaching.''

During Friday's presentation, Ash was joined by Rex Norris, the head of Atavus football, who told NJ Advance Media, "our goal is to have every football coach, at every level, rugby-tackle trained.''

"Coach Ash and I were introduced to each other last year around March,'' Norris said. "We had a conversation about what we were doing out of this. He gave us his background of what he was teaching (as defensive coordinator) at Wisconsin, Arkansas and Ohio State, and just his self-research in rugby and basically his interest was to do a self-check and to see how far along they had come as a football program installing rugby-style tackling. He thought it would be great to meet with our staff, so myself and another team member went to Ohio State and met with Coach Ash, (Ohio State co-defensive coordinator) Luke Fickell, coach Greg Schiano, and some other defensive coaches in June (2015).

"They were receptive to it. The primary piece you want to hang on to is that it's a shoulder-led tackling technique. Instituting power and control through the body, through the arm as your center point of control and power, initiating it that way has more players centered, it's more effective and safer in the sense of protecting the body and the head.''

Late in spring camp, Ash said the rugby-tackling approach had started to pay dividends for a defense that ranked 111th nationally during a 4-8 campaign last fall.

"We were about 90 percent effective in all the tackle attempts that we had (in the second intrasquad scrimmage), which is off the charts," Ash said in April. "There was a ton of improvement based off what I saw in the scrimmage. Now does that translate to better tackling in the fall? We'll see. But in the opportunities where we've done live tackling, I have seen improvement. I can show several examples on film of what we're teaching both in the meeting room and in individual drills is transferring over to live situations. As long as we can continue that trend, we'll be better off.''

From July 19-22, Norris will lead a rugby-tackle camp at Rutgers. The mission, he said, is to provide a unique experience specifically designed for high school-level football players who are looking to become more effective and safer tacklers.

"When you look at the evolution of football it requires change for you to keep progressing and getting better,'' Norris said. "I think elements of this style of tackling has been happening for years in football. But the need for it has increased obviously over the last few years as the game has changed dramatically. To say that coaches have been doing it wrong all these years I think is wrong. There's been a lot of successful coaches with successful programs that taught safe tackling, but what we're saying is the game of football requires a better education in contact.''

Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.