Talking season — that time between the last game of the football season and the beginning of training camp — is over.

Yes, the college football preseason is upon us. Training camp is undoubtedly the favorite time of year for coaches, and Chris Ash is no exception.

“It’s a new year,’’ the Rutgers coach said.

The Scarlet Knights’ season opener is Aug. 30, when they play host to UMass for a 7:15 p.m. at SHI Stadium.

But preparations for what figures to be a pivotal 2019 campaign begins Thursday, when the Scarlet Knights hold the first of approximately two dozen training camp practices.

“I get asked a lot about what we have to do to improve, and first and foremost, I believe that more games are lost than they are won, and for us we have to figure out — and it starts with me — how not to lose games,’’ Ash said. “That starts with taking care of the football, foolish penalties, playing with great fundamentals and tremendous effort. Those are things that we’ve been working on through spring, this summer, and we’re going to focus on here in training camp as we get ready for our opening game against UMass.’’

Here are four storylines we’ll be watching throughout training camp:

Can Art Sitkowski make the leap?

Sitkowski’s rookie campaign was dreadful by any measure, but by all accounts the rising sophomore had a solid offseason. While Ash isn’t about to simply hand Sitkowski the starting job after he threw for nearly five times as many interceptions (a nation-leading 18) than touchdowns (4) last fall, the Rutgers coach says the Old Bridge product will enter training camp as his No. 1 signal caller.

“I still have a lot of faith in Art,’’ Ash said. “He was a true freshman trying to run an offense and it didn’t go well his first year. Not all the weight of those struggles fall on his shoulders. The pieces around him have to perform better. If we’re going to get better, our o-line, quarterback and d-line have to play better. Outside of taking care of the football we have to play better on both sides and that offensive line has to protect the quarterback better. That’s just what it is but Art is a better player today because of the situation he went through last year. He learned through his struggles. He had a really good offseason, he’s had a good summer, and we’ve made some adjustments to hopefully help him be comfortable and have success and I’m excited to see what he does.’’

John McNulty is back for another year. Is that a good thing?

Normally, an assistant coach who oversaw a unit that ranked dead last in the country in points-per-game (13.5) and third-to-last in yards-per-game (266.3) wouldn’t be welcomed back with open arms.

But that’s not the case at Rutgers, which has long sought to have consistency in its offensive scheme in consecutive years.

Yes, even Ash is dumbfounded by the fact that John McNulty is Rutgers’ first offensive coordinator in a decade to return for a second season.

“That’s a big part of what we feel will be our success moving forward, having the same offensive coordinator,’’ Ash said. “I think it’s the first time in maybe 10 years at Rutgers. It’s an amazing stat, but it’s a true stat. And I think what John brings being back a second year is just the knowledge of the players. When an offensive coordinator goes in to a new situation, the first thing he wants to do is here’s my package, here’s my system, here’s what we’re going to do, without great knowledge necessarily about what the players’ strength and weaknesses are and what they can do. Coming back for his second year, John has a great understanding of our roster, our players, and more importantly probably what our offensive line can do and what our quarterback can do. We’ve been able to make the necessary adjustments in my opinion to fit our players and hopefully put them in positions to have success, knowing who we have to play week in and week out. That’s a huge point for our program — to be able to get a guy to come back in that position for a second year and work with our players. So there is some consistency, but there’s some understanding of what we have to do to fit the players that we have.’’

What impact will Andy Buh have on defense?

The fact that Rutgers’ defense played markedly better in the second half of the 2018 season — after Ash vowed to take more control over the defensive play-calling duties – is important to note considering Ash appeared to relinquish that control back to Andy Buh, who was tapped as Rutgers’ new DC after the ouster of Jay Niemann.

“Obviously I came here,'' Buh said, "to call the defense. So that’s what I’ll do.''

Still, Buh — who previously held play-calling responsibilities at Stanford, Nevada, California and Maryland in his 23-year coaching career — insists he’s not about to reinvent the wheel.

“We’re not going to wholesale-change the scheme,’’ said Buh, who takes command of a unit that ranked 23rd nationally in pass defense, 108th nationally in rush defense and 70th nationally in total defense in 2018. “Obviously there will be some wrinkles that we’ll bring in to just add to the package here. But for the most part just getting the guys to play hard, concentrate on getting the ball out and that’s about it.’’

There are lots of receivers on the roster. Can any of them be great?

Rutgers’ roster includes 17 wide receivers. Last we checked, teams don’t play more than five at any given time and Rutgers typically plays three or four in most of its offensive packages.

But there’s a positive in all that depth: conventional wisdom suggests at least a handful will emerge as playmakers this fall.

That’s what Rutgers’ coaching staff is banking on after the position group produced dismal totals of 72 receptions, 613 yards and a single touchdown last season.

The good news is Rutgers boasts the kind of experience to give an optimist hope for a big leap this fall, as Bo Melton, Shameen Jones, Eddie Lewis, Mo Jabbie, Everett Wormley and Hunter Hayek have all started games.

“We’ve got guys that can make plays out there,’’ Ash said. “We have to protect the quarterback first and foremost and allow him to have time for pass concepts to develop. I think this year we’ve made some changes offensively that are going to help us in our pass game.’’

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