BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- Armando Allen's long touchdown reception on a beautifully executed wheel route in a full-team drill on Thursday is the latest in a string of impressive plays made this offseason by the running back as he works to earn a spot on the Chicago Bears’ final 53-man roster.

Allen sits No. 4 on the club's depth chart behind starter Matt Forte and reserves Michael Bush and Kahlil Bell, but Notre Dame's fifth all-time leader in all-purpose yards (4,337) is, at the very least, doing his part to keep it interesting when it comes to how many tailbacks the Bears can carry when they head into the regular season.

"So far so good," Allen said. "I try to go out there everyday and be explosive. That's one thing we are focusing on this year. My views are always positive. The more competition you have the better it makes you. When you look at it that way, you're always eager to go to practice, make plays and be explosive.

"Obviously, I'm a smaller back and a quicker guy so I when I get the opportunity I like to be put in space and make things happen. For me, it's just taking it one day at a time. Whatever role they give me, whether it's special teams or whatever, I want to take that on and give it my all."

As is the case with most players on the bubble, Allen's ability to contribute on special teams could decide whether he sticks on the team. Through the first week of camp Allen has lined up with the second special teams unit on a couple of phases, including serving as the personal protect on the punt team. Allen appeared in two games for the Bears last season after he spent 12 weeks on the team's practice squad. Allen went to training camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last summer before he got released prior to the start of the regular season.

"I actually played the same exact roles on special teams last summer in Tampa so that's kind of good for me since I already know a couple of techniques I learned in Tampa,” Allen said. “So I'm just going to go out there and give it all that I got."