CHICAGO -- It didn't take long for Chris Ash to get his first question regarding the quarterback position.

After offering an opening statement during his Big Ten Media Day press conference, the Rutgers football coach was pressed on his quarterback competition heading into his first training camp (which begins two weeks from today).

"Right now it's an open competition,'' Ash said.

Referring to returning starter Chris Laviano, fellow fourth-year junior Hayden Rettig, third-year sophomore Giovanni Rescigno and TCU graduate-transfer Zach Allen, Ash added: "We have four guys who will compete for the starting quarterback position once we start camp. Three of them were with us in the spring and then we added Zach Allen, a graduate transfer from TCU into the mix here this summer. As I look back, we evaluate each position group coming out of the spring. We felt like we had to make a change in that room, we had to do something to help the football team, so we brought in Zach.

"All four quarterbacks have had a great summer. They've provided outstanding leadership, they work extremely hard, they continue to learn the offense. They've put together a lot of player-run, 7-on-7s throughout the summer for those guys to continue to improve. I'm excited to see what they do once they start training camp.

"Right now we have four guys, they'll all get an opportunity to prove what they can do. And fairly quickly in camp we'll start to identify the one or two who give us the best us the best chance to have some success.''

Here are four more quick takeaways from what Ash had to say Monday from the podium in the grand ballroom at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago:

2) In 2011, Ash was the defensive coordinator on the Wisconsin team that captured a share of the Big Ten West Division title. In 2014, Ash served as co-defensive coordinator on the Ohio State that won the Big Ten East Division and the conference championship game.

During his media-day press conference, Ash stood next to all three of those trophies so it was fitting that he was asked what Rutgers needs to do as a program to achieve that same level of success.

"We have some areas that are very strong, both personnel-wise, facilities-wise, support-wise,'' Ash said. "We have some areas that we have to continue to improve on. As a team that's new to the Big Ten, that's not to be unexpected. But I think we have all the key ingredients needed to build a great foundation ... to be one of those better Big Ten football teams that people are not going to want to play each Saturday.''

3) Plenty of headlines were generated throughout the offseason on Rutgers' "war'' with Michigan on the satellite-camp trail. Asked what he makes of the fan rivalry with Michigan, Ash was brutally honest in his response.

"I'll start by saying there's no rivalry with Michigan -- yet,'' Ash said.

The Rutgers coach added: "They've done some things that we have not been able to do. I think it's great the fans have a chance to talk about college football, I have a tremendous amount of respect for (Michigan) coach (Jim) Harbaugh and the job he's done this year and the program they've had for several years. We're going to work the best we can at Rutgers to create rivalries with everybody that we play.''

4) Rutgers has 20 non-binding commitments for the 2017 recruiting class, which has Ash and Co. ranked No. 20 nationally and fourth in the Big Ten, according to the Scout.com rankings.

"We had a plan when we came to Rutgers on how we wanted to recruit and what it was going to take to create the type of environment that recruits wanted to be a part of,'' Ash said, when asked why his program has had instant success on the recruiting trail.

"It started in our own locker room. We wanted to create a culture that our players believed in, that they could go out and sell to recruits. At the end of the day, if your players aren't your best recruiters, you don't have a chance to recruit at a high level. That's really what has helped us more than anything.

"We've worked hard to build relationships with high school coaches and recruits in our area, and it really starts with what's going on in your locker room, in your building, the relationships that you have with your players, and what are they telling recruits and parents when they come on campus. Our players have done an outstanding job in the recruiting process to get us to where we are today.''

5) Ash didn't comment on it during his 15-minutes at the podium, but there are a few roster updates to note. The most noteworthy involves a running back who at this time last summer was thought to be in the mix for the starting tailback honor. But after missing all of last season and the 2016 spring camp, Desmon Peoples is off the team.

The 5-8, 170-pounder, who would've been a fifth-year senior, led the team in rushing with 447 yards in 10 games during Rutgers' inaugural Big Ten campaign in 2014. He finished his career with 463 yards and three touchdowns on 121 carries.

In other roster news, redshirt freshman Charles Snorweah, who was recruited as a running back but switched to defensive back during the offseason, is listed again as a running back.

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