Nunzio Campanile was a known workaholic as the head coach at Bergen Catholic High. Since becoming Rutgers' running backs coach in February, he's learned he was indeed putting in college-style time at his previous stop.

"Everyone kept telling me the time was going to be crazy, but the time has been no different," Campanile said Tuesday after Rutgers' ninth spring practice. "That's for sure. But now, I really get to focus on pretty much two things: Doing the best job I can with the running backs and getting my feet under me with recruiting. I get to focus on the things that are really important to my job."

Rutgers head coach Chris Ash made waves in-state earlier this year when he hired Campanile, considered one of New Jersey's top high school coaches, to his staff weeks after Bergen Catholic won its first state title in 13 years. The move was viewed by some as driven by recruiting interests given Rutgers' struggles to land top players from the prominent North Jersey parochial programs, but Ash said he was hiring Campanile to coach and recruit, not only the latter.

Campanile has been the assistant he expected, according to Ash.

"I hired him and he kind of hit the ground running. He's been doing a great job," the coach said last week. "I think he's done a great job with his players and his unit. Coaching them, building a relationship with them. I think they all get along well, and he's recruiting. He's fitting In exceptionally well. In my opinion as the head coach, watching, he's been a great addition to our staff. Great with the staff, great with the players, I've enjoyed having him here. Hopefully he feels the same."

Campanile does.

"So far, so good," he said. "I've been having a lot of fun, learning the system and stuff like that."

The biggest adjustment going from being a high school head coach to a college position coach? "I think a lot of it is just learning the way coach Ash runs the program, and getting comfortable and making sure I know exactly what my responsibilities are," Campanile said. "Learning [offensive coordinator John] McNulty's offense. That's been a lot of fun, and we're doing some really good stuff."

Campanile was considered an innovative offensive coach at the high school level. His Bergen Catholic offense were prolific, as were his units at Don Bosco Prep when he was the Ironmen's coordinator prior to landing the BC job. For now though, Campanile said his main focus is learning and coaching McNulty's system. There may come a time where he can assist with the scheme, he said, but he's not there yet.

"It's really good football. [McNulty is] a really intelligent guy, and the scheme is effective," Campanile said. "My biggest goal at this point is to just do my job the best I can."

Part of that job is recruiting, too. Campanile said he's enjoyed that aspect so far, and feels his move has been well-received.

"It's been interesting. I think I have a lot of good relationships, and the majority of the guys I'm going to be recruiting are up in North Jersey, so I know a lot of the kids, I know a lot of their families. That part of it has been pretty good," he said.

"I'm really excited to develop relationships outside of the area, and develop some of the relationships I've had in the past. The kids in the league that I coached in, obviously I know a lot about all those guys, but it's been fun delving in to find out more about some of the other kids. I've listened to a lot of guys complain about that part of the job, but I'm actually kind of excited about this part. You really want to know the guys you're going to coach.

"So far, it seems like it's been really positive. A lot of those guys and a lot of those relationships go back my entire life. My dad was a coach, I played against some of those guys, I coached against a lot of them. Different camps, clinics over the years. I think I have a lot of good relationships, and so far that's been pretty seamless."

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