Ryan Dunleavy

Staff writer

Chris Ash’s last three hires for the Rutgers football program have been a director of high school relations, a director of recruiting and a director of player development.

Two of his first moves were head and assistant strength and conditioning coaches.

While those may not be as attention-grabbing as the coordinators and the position coaches – he still needs one more of those, likely with NFL ties – Ash’s meticulously thought-out plan for building a program always included solidifying the foundation.

“I’m going to put more investment into our recruiting staff to recruit the type of players we want,” Ash told Gannett New Jersey last month.

“More investment into our strength staff because that’s the most important staff on your football team. That’s who spends the most time with your football team, and they are going to develop their bodies, and their minds as well.”

Ash, who spent the previous two seasons as defensive coordinator at Ohio State, also is thinking about nutrition.

In 2014, the NCAA lifted strict restrictions governing how programs feed student-athletes, who previously were entitled to only one training-table meal per day in-season. Ohio State was at the forefront of capitalizing on the changes, though it already had a team dietitian.

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At Ohio State’s Woody Hayes Athletic Center – where the football team trains – there is a Gatorade Fuel Bar complete with kitchen appliances for players to make smoothies and rehydrate, grab snack bars and cereal, or sneak in some sleep on a leather sofa.

“We need to have a bigger investment in what the players eat,” Ash said. “The nutrition part of it is so important. Rutgers has done it a certain way. I’ve seen it a different way. There is a big gap. Am I going to sit here and say we need to be become what Ohio State has? No.”

Is it micromanaging? Yes. Can it make a difference? Big-time.

Consider that Ohio State’s defensive coaches gave credit for shutting down Oregon’s "unstoppable" up-tempo offense in the 2015 national championship game to a diet.

Defensive players, especially the hefty lineman, were asked to lose about 5-10 pounds by eating less and running more during what amounted to a 10-day cleanse, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

“(Ohio State) is the biggest budget in college football,” Ash said, “but we can close the gap, and we can be creative in how we make that happen. If we can invest in the players and the way that they are trained, the way that they eat, the way we can help them physically, the way we help set them up for life after football, I think those things will give us a lot more back in the long run.”

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Ash has made it abundantly clear that he plans to test the current roster through rigorous offseason training at the risk of alienating some players who don’t like his ways. He sees discipline as a way to build trust.

“It’s just being honest and straight-forward, and being who you are,” Ash said. “How you do that is you are crystal clear in what your expectations are, and you are not constantly changing and not negotiating what they are. It’s a structured, disciplined approach.

“Honestly, if the players want to have success that’s what they want, because they know that’s what’s going to allow them to go places they haven’t been.”

Staff Writer Ryan Dunleavy: rdunleavy@gannettnj.com