QjszaocV.jpg

Lester Erb spent 13 years in the Big Ten at Iowa and is returning to the league as Rutgers running backs coach after four years at Nevada.

(Lester Erb's Twitter page)

Rutgers shuffled running backs in-season and now is shuffling running backs coaches in the offseason.

Coach Chris Ash has hired veteran Big Ten assistant Lester Erb to fill a void created by the quiet departure of Zak Kuhr, according to a source.

Kuhr is expected to land an on-field assistant position at Texas State, where he will be reunited with mentor Everett Withers.

Erb comes to Rutgers after spending the past four seasons at Nevada, where he was running backs coach and promoted to assistant head coach. He previously spent 13 seasons -- eight with wide receivers and five with running backs-- at Iowa.

Another interesting wrinkle is that Erb was Nevada's special teams coordinator for three seasons. Rutgers struggled mightily in nearly all facets of special teams last season, and it is Ash's philosophy that different assistants take charge of different units. Kuhr had kickoff return.

Erb, 47, combined with the hire of former Minnesota coach Jerry Kill to succeed Drew Mehringer as offensive coordinator provides Rutgers with a major upgrade on offense. Ash's background is steeped in defense.

Nevada fired coach Brian Polian after the season and successor Jay Norvell rebuilt the coaching staff, putting Erb on the open market.

Rutgers offense finished last in the nation in total yards per game last season and the rushing attack -- while still more productive than the passing offense -- did not meet preseason expectations with upperclassmen Robert Martin, Josh Hicks and Justin Goodwin to anchor a rotation.

Ash, who could not be reached Wednesday night, entered the offseason expressing a desire for continuity, but surrounding himself with the knowledge that comes from age seems like a long-term win for the second-year coach.

During his time at Iowa, Erb worked alongside Rutgers offensive line coach A.J. Blazek when he was just starting out as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater.

Erb coached at Syracuse, Army and with the Baltimore Ravens before finding his way onto well-respected Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz's staff after the two worked together in the NFL. The Milton, Pa. native coached against Ash and Kill in the Big Ten.

Nevada was the only school in the nation with two running backs topping 1,000 rushing yards in 2015. That same season the Wolfpack also had arguably the best special teams in the Mountain West Conference, from kickoffs and punts to return yardage.

Erb is a two-time selection (2005, 2012) as a Top 25 recruiter in the nation by Rivals.com. He also brings instant credibility to the position group because one of his prized proteges is Winslow Township High School product Shonn Greene.

The former Iowa star won the 2008 Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back and became a third-round draft pick of the New York Jets.

Kuhr is tight with Mehringer -- who left Rutgers for a co-coordinator position at Texas -- after the two worked side-by-side at Ohio State and James Madison. Kuhr was the co-offensive coordinator at JMU for Everett Withers in 2015.

Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.