PISCATAWAY -- There's a reason why multiple websites devote year-round coverage to high school football recruiting, posting their team-rankings list some 10 months before Signing Day and updating it throughout the year.

It's because fans have a keen interest in reading about their favorite college football team's recruiting progress. Even the folks who produce the team rankings for a living would concede in an honest moment that the rankings are meaningless this time of year.

Still, it creates an interest that proponents of the recruiting evaluation system say is good for college football's popularity.

As it stands, Rutgers is one of 43 teams nationally that doesn't have a commitment for its 2018 recruiting class. Put another way, 86 teams nationally -- including 12 of the 14 Big Ten programs -- have at least one commitment.

Of course, all commitments -- until recruits can officially sign a National Letter of Intent on Feb. 7, 2018 -- are non-binding and, yes, many of these pledges will end up becoming decommitments over the next 10 months.

For Rutgers fans who follow the never-ending cycle of recruiting, it may be alarming to see coach Chris Ash and Co. with zero commitments while Big Ten-rivals Northwestern (13) and Penn State (12) have double-digit recruits unofficially in the fold.

But is it a concern for Ash himself?

"What is today's date?'' the Rutgers coach said, following up our query with a question of his own.

Told that it's April 13, 2017, Ash said: "I'm not concerned about that one bit. You look back last year and we probably had one kid who was committed and (Timber Creek's Naijee Jones) was committed before we even got here.

"I'm worried about commitments on the first Wednesday in February.''

Then, Ash answered the question more direct.

"Why hasn't anyone committed? Because no one's committed. Simple as that,'' he said.

NJ Advance Media reviewed every Rutgers recruiting class since 2008 and, in most years, the Scarlet Knights coaching staff had between two and four commitments by mid-April. The most early commitments occurred in 2014, when former coach Kyle Flood secured six pledges by the first week of April.

But while running back Josh Hicks, safety Saquan Hampton and offensive guard Zack Heeman have morphed into valuable players on this year's roster, half of those players either didn't qualify, never signed, or transferred out soon after officially joining the team.

While Ash stayed true to the commitment made by Timber Creek's Jones to the previous coaching staff, he didn't get his first commitment for the 2017 recruiting class until four-star wide receiver Bo Melton of Cedar Creek High School committed on April 16, 2016.

That created a domino effect, as four more of New Jersey's top-rated recruits -- linemen Micah Clark and Jamaal Beaty of St. John Vianney (4/20), wide receiver Everett Wormley of Burlington Township (4/22) and quarterback Johnathan Lewis of St. Peter's Prep (4/30) -- committed before the calendar turned to May.

All five of those players ended up sticking with their commitments -- no small feat in the age of recruiting where decommitments are the norm. Despite only having one recruit pledged on this date last year, Rutgers ended up signing a max recruiting class, a 26-member group ranked No. 42 nationally, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings.

"I'm not concerned one bit about commitments in April,'' Ash said, echoing his previous statement. "I'm concerned about them in February.''

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