The Jets' second-year running back Braelon Allen doesn't need any extra encouragement after first-year HC Aaron Glenn asks his players to ramp up the physical side of an already highly physical game.

"He's stressed since Day 1 back in the spring, physicality was number one," Allen said on Monday, the first day in pads at training camp. "And that's going to be our identity. That starts up front and with the run game. So he's relying on us to kind of set that tone. Him being a defensive-minded head coach, that kind of trickles over onto the offensive side as well.

"And that's part of my game that's already kind of instilled in me. So, nothing new."

Nearly everything about Allen, 21, screams "physical." As a rookie he was the youngest player in the NFL, tipping the scales at 235 pounds. As he prepared for his sophomore season in the league, he's modestly increased his physical presence to 240 on an already chiseled frame.

"I feel stronger," he said. "I'm a little bigger. I think body-wise, but weight-wise, I'm probably around the same like 240-ish."

Allen was selected out of Wisconsin in the fourth round (No. 134 overall) by the Jets in the 2024 NFL Draft. He came to the Green & White with an elite pedigree after his three seasons at Camp Randall Stadium. After joining his home state Badgers as a safety, his speed and heft were quickly recognized, and he moved from the defensive to the offensive backfield. Overall he carried the ball 597 times for 3,494 yards (5.9 per carry) with 35 TDs and caught 49 passes for 275 yards (5.6 per).

His rookie season started off with a bang when he rushed 7 times for a TD and caught 2 passes, one for a second score in the Jets' Week 2 victory at Tennessee. But as the Jets' rush game seemed to take a backseat, he only hit double figures in carries three more times last season when the rush offense was 31st in yards and 30th in touchdowns.

Those stats are likely to be a thing of the past this season as Glenn and OC Tanner Engstrand have said the run game -- with the three-headed monster at RB of Breece Hall, Allen and Isaiah Davis, plus the mobile QB Justin Fields, and a promising O-line with first-round picks Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou as the bookend tackles -- will power the offense.

Early on in training camp at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, Allen has stood out with a couple of big gains while looking quick and powerful behind an O-line that has consistently opened holes for No. 0 and his running mates.

"Hopefully I have a very heavy role in this offense and I can play my game," Allen said. "In terms of the offense, you know, it's very similar to what we did my freshman year at Wisconsin. So, it's very familiar. For me, it feels very natural. So, I'm excited.

"Our scheme is based around wide zone, so I don't know if we'll run more power, but we've done a little bit of it. But all of us, it doesn't matter what run they call, we're going to run it and we're going to run it to the best of our ability. So, it's all about finishing the run, no matter what the scheme is. But I can run in any scheme, I can run any ... power, zone, duo, whatever the case is. So yeah, I think there'll be a good mix of both."

Perhaps one aspect of Allen's game is overlooked -- his skill and tenacity on special teams. As a rookie, he took 165 special team snaps (38.2%) over 13 games.

"Last year I didn't have a choice, so I had to embrace it," he said with a smile. "And I'm the type of guy that's going to do whatever is asked of me. I mean, if they wanted me to play linebacker, I would. If they wanted me to play fullback, I would. That's all I've always done. I've played pretty much every position on the field at some point. And I just love football. So special teams, either got to block somebody or make a tackle. So that's that sense of football and what I'm all about."