PISCATAWAY - Give Chris Ash and the rest of the coaching staff at Rutgers a little credit.

After a 1-11 season, with a handful of those 11 losses offering horrid optics, they still were able to get their message and vision across to the next wave of recruits.

Rutgers announced an 18-member recruiting class Wednesday afternoon, the first day of the early signing period. Some of the signees were long committed, some were late flips from other programs, some may make an immediate impact. In any case, Ash was pleased with his haul, especially given what transpired last season.

"The message didn't change," said Ash, whose recruiting class is ranked 59th nationally and 12th in the 14-team Big Ten as of Wednesday afternoon. "It's a comprehensive program, from the education, to the life skills, to the career development, the culture of the individuals in our locker room.

"It's part of the build. We have a young football team, and all of those things had been communicated from the start, and that communication didn't stop. Because of the relationships we built with the players, and then the feedback they received from the current players about the culture of the locker room, what we're doing, and how excited they are about the future, the combination of those things really helped us.

Ash says he hopes to get "maybe a couple of more" before the early signing period ends Friday. When the regular signing period begins Feb. 6, Rutgers still will be in the market for a defensive back, defensive lineman, offensive lineman and a tight end, per Ash, who was rattling off immediate needs. The regular signing period closes April 1.

Rutgers' 18-man class is below. Of those 18, Malachi Burby, Omari Cooper, Juwan Mitchell, Drew Singleton, Cole Snyder and Mohamed Toure are all scheduled to enroll in January and go through spring practice.

Rutgers 2019 recruiting class

Kay'Ron Adams, RB, Warren G. Harding (Warren, Ohio)

Isaiah Washington, WR, Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville, Florida)

Juwan Mitchell, LB, Mater Dei/Butler CC (El Dorado, Kansas)

Mohamed Toure, LB, Pleasantville

Cooper Heisey, QB, Scotch Plains-Fanwood/Wyoming Seminary

Omari Cooper, OT, San Diego Mesa College

Aaron Young, ATH, Coatesvile Area (Coatesville, Pa.)

Malachi Burby, DT, Chesire Academy (Cheshire, Conn.)

Devin Baldwin, DE, Southfield (Southfield, Mich.)

Zukudo Igwenagu, ATH, Worcester Academy (Worcester, Mass.)

T.J. Robinson, S, Riverview (Riverview, Florida)

C.J. Hanson, OG, St. John Vianney

Drew Singleton, LB, Paramus Catholic/University of Michigan

Cole Snyder, QB, Southwestern (Jamestown, N.Y.)

Donald Williams, S, Camden

Donovan Bunch, CB, Winslow Twp.

Chris Conti, LB, DePaul

Anton Oskarsson, OT, Sweden

Staff Writer Josh Newman: jnewman@app.com; @Joshua_Newman