If you run into Lester Erb around the Rutgers campus these days, good luck asking the Scarlet Knights wide receivers coach about anything that happened last season.

Erb insists he’s not looking back.

“What I’m concerned about now is how we move forward,’’ Erb said Tuesday following the 12th practice of spring camp. “I’m not concerned about what they did or didn’t do last year.’’

Still, Erb understands the questions. After all, no team in the Big Ten produced less out of its wide-receiver unit than Rutgers, which tallied 72 receptions for 613 yards and a touchdown last season.

That would’ve been good for one receiver — not a WR corps overall. Consider five Big Ten receivers totaled 70 or more receptions and two others exceeded Rutgers’ receiving yardage total last season.

There are plenty of theories on why Rutgers’ wide receivers struggled last fall.

There was a true freshman (Art Sitkowski) experiencing quarterback at the college football level for the first time. Some believe the receivers had too many dropped passes and struggled to get separation from their opposing defenders. And at one point last fall offensive coordinator John McNulty conceded it may have been as simple as his receivers needing to win 50-50 balls against defensive backs.

Erb, however, has a different theory for the wide receivers’ struggles.

“To me, if you really look at the receiver unit, we were a young unit,’’ Erb said. “That’s the facts of the matter. I’m never going to make excuses or anything like that but there’s a lot that goes into the pass game, whether it’s protection, whether it’s a throw, whether it’s creating separation by the receiver, whether it’s catching it or not catching it. Look at how many guys that it was still their second year on campus and we were out there expecting them to play and we were playing against fourth- and fifth-year seniors. I mean, there’s a difference.’’

It’s a valid point considering all seven of the wide receivers who caught passes last season were underclassmen.

Still, it’s not like Rutgers has a veteran group this spring. The good news is Erb has an intriguing level of depth on his hands.

There are 16 wide receivers in spring camp. Of that total, 13 are scholarship players. Rutgers will add two more scholarship wide receivers in the summer when a pair of recruits — Isaiah Washington and Stanley King — join the team.

Eleven of the 18 receivers set to be on the training-camp roster will be in their redshirt sophomore year or younger this summer.

“I think there’s great competition within the group right now,’’ Erb said. “Obviously some younger guys have joined into the group. I think the biggest thing is, because there’s added competition, we’ve gotten better every day. I just told them right now that really (in) three of the last four practices we’ve thrown and caught the ball around here as good as the three years that I’ve been here. The guys are working hard, they’re working their tail off. They’re pushing each other. They’re supporting each other. And we’re starting to see that growth.’’

The optimist in Erb pointed to junior Bo Melton, redshirt sophomore Shameen Jones and junior Everett Wormley as third-year players poised to make a big leap this fall.

Melton, a four-star recruit out of Cedar Creek, will look to build on a sophomore campaign in which he recorded 28 receptions for 245 yards. Jones, a Bronx native, totaled 15 receptions for 155 years and a touchdown. Wormley has five receptions for 28 yards in 21 games over the last two seasons after graduating from Burlington Township High.

“I’ve seen guys who don’t play until their fifth year and have great seasons,’’ Erb said. “It just really comes down to how they develop. And the biggest thing is, once guys get to their third years on campus, that’s really when you get to see what they potentially can be. Those guys are juniors, and if they had been in a little bit deeper program earlier on may have redshirted and that probably would’ve been the best thing for them. But they got forced into action and they’re having good spring (camps) now. It’s never, ever too late for anybody.’’

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