Rutgers wide receivers coach Jafar Williams is leaving to take the running backs coach post at Big Ten-rival Maryland, a source with knowledge of the situation told NJ Advance Media on Thursday.
The move means Scarlet Knights coach Chris Ash will need to replace a second position coach this offseason after he filled the defensive-line coaching void with Miami-Ohio's Corey Brown earlier this week.
In addition, Ash hired John McNulty last month as his offensive coordinator after Jerry Kill retired following the 2017 season and is expected to elevate director of player personnel Toby Neinas into the team's new 10th on-field assistant position.
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It's not known where Ash turns to replace Williams -- a former Terps wide receiver who graduated from Maryland in 2003 -- but McNulty will likely provide input considering he spent the bulk of his 29-year coaching career mentoring wide receivers.
One coach who could make sense because of his New Jersey ties and experience coaching wide receivers is Bobby Acosta, a Monmouth County native who played at Rowan and spent time coaching on the high school level at Marlboro and Monmouth Regional before coaching wideouts at Syracuse in 2014 and '15. Acosta spent this past season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Bucknell, working under former Rutgers assistant coach Joe Susan and leading a unit that ranked fifth in the Patriot League in scoring and total yards en route to a 5-6 record.
Whoever steps in will need to improve a wide receiver unit that struggled in 2017 under Williams' tutelage.
In fact, no Big Ten team got less production out of its wide receiver corps than Rutgers, which saw wide receivers make up just 40.7 percent of the team's conference-low 135 receptions.
Janarion Grant, who is now prepping for the NFL, was the leading pass catcher among wideouts (16 receptions) despite playing in only seven games.
The pass-catching corps will be even more unproven heading into 2018. Rising junior Dacoven Bailey (9 receptions, 122 yards) and rising sophomore Hunter Hayek (8 receptions, 62 yards) return as Rutgers' leading pass catchers at the WR spot.
Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.