Chris Ash held his introductory press conference roughly 44 months ago. A great deal has happened since then. But one comment from his first official day as Rutgers’ head coach still hangs over the program with a haunting air.

“We’ll have an offense that can score points,” Ash said on Dec. 7, 2015. “It’s going to be exciting, and it’s going to be fun to watch, and it’s going to be one that players are going to want to be a part of and fans are going to want to watch and show up every Saturday on the field.”

The Scarlet Knights still have yet to accomplish many (any?) of those things.

The Rutgers offense has failed to score many points and occasionally have done so in historically awful fashion. The scheme has been as exciting as a root canal. Fun? Nope. You can debate whether or not players want to be part of it, but recruiting has continued to struggle. And fans are not jamming SHI Stadium to see the unit in action.

But could that all begin to change this fall? The offensive coordinator carousel has finally stopped. John McNulty is back, allowing Rutgers to establish a consistent identity (at least that’s the hope). Four of five projected offensive linemen have starting experience. The running game should be strong behind Raheem Blackshear and Isaih Pacheco. Hope springs eternal Artur Sitkowski will begin to put it together (with McLane Carter waiting in the wings if he does not) and at some point, a receiver or two have to emerge.

There is nowhere to go but up. No one expects a pinball offense that scores 50 points each week. But is a productive unit that begins to make good on what Ash pledged on the verge of fruition?

"I'll tell you at the end of training camp," Ash said, as you'd expect.

“I can’t tell you we’re at that spot right now ... We have a lot of work to do over the next four weeks. I’ve seen progress being made in a lot of areas. Just the scheme changes, player development, incoming players that I’m excited about. But we’ve got to go practice, we’ve got to go work and it’s all got to come together. ... We’ve got to get all 11 people on offense working together to make the picture look better. That’s what we have to invest an insane amount of time on this August.”

No one expects bold proclamations from Rutgers at this point. The Scarlet Knights had arguably the nation’s most impotent attack a year ago en route to a 1-11 finish and the offense has been a weakness for the entirety of Ash’s tenure. It will be a case of “faith without results” until it no longer is. But this fall would be a pretty good time for that to change.

Rutgers was 129th nationally in scoring offense last season. The Scarlet Knights were 127th in scoring offense, 126th in turnover margin, 123rd in pass offense and 105th in rush offense. There are plenty more ugly stats you can tack on, but you get the picture. It has to change if there will be any chance for a bounce-back season - something Ash and his staff desperately need with jobs almost assuredly on the line in Year No. 4.

Any offensive revitalization will likely come down to three key areas: Is Rutgers’ offensive line better than it was a year ago under new position coach Peter Rossomando? If the protection is there, will the quarterback - whoever he is - be able to make throws and distribute to the receivers? And will the football be protected overall?

“That alone will change the narrative around our offense more than anything else,” Ash said in reference to last year’s minus-14 turnover differential a year ago, the second-worst mark in the country. Sitkowski’s 18 interceptions played a big role there, and Rutgers needs to drastically cut down on the giveaways from under center. But remember, the Scarlet Knights were underwater in turnover differential with coordinators Drew Mehringer and Jerry Kill too.

Can progress be made? McNulty struck a more optimistic tone when asked a similar question to the one Ash fielded. But he also sounded far from sure.

“I’m really excited. I think I understand better where we are with what guys can do,” McNulty said. “We all do, and we’ve spent the whole offseason in that vein."

Rutgers hopes it will work. Finally.

“We understand that we have to do better,” Ash said. “We’ve got to score points, we’ve got to be more effective in all areas and all positions, and we’re working hard to get that done.”

James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.