Ellis begins his sentence on Friday. Getty Images!
In May, Jets defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis reached a plea agreement to serve 45 days in jail following the team's June minicamp. The 2011 third-round pick out of Hampton University was originally arrested on felony assault charges stemming from an April 2010 incident that happened while he was still in school.

On Thursday, the Jets wrapped up minicamp, which means that Ellis will spend the next month and half behind bars starting Friday. Coach Rex Ryan, who vowed in January to fix a locker room that lost its way during the team's 8-8 effort last season, had some words for Ellis.

"I have conversations with a lot of our players, but obviously that’s a different situation. But I definitely talked to him," Ryan said according to the Newark Star-Ledger's Jenny Vrentas. "There are people that have gone through similar things, and I basically said, 'Lean on each other.' That’s pretty much it."

Ryan's message was part of a more general theme about the Jets as they prepare for training camp in late July. "We will have a close football team," he said of the 2012 season, via CBSSports.com Rapid Reporter Lisa Zimmerman. "We're not going to beat ourselves with all that infighting."

One concern (in addition to day-to-day issues that one can expect from being incarcerated for any length of time), is if Ellis will be able to maintain his conditioning in the coming weeks.

Ryan said: "He's in great shape now. Hopefully, he'll be able to maintain it." (Zimmerman writes that Ryan says that Ellis has gone from not being able to do pull-ups to now doing series of them while also using extra weights.)

When asked about staying in shape, Ellis offered this: "Conditioning is a major part of playing in the NFL. I’ll just try to get in better shape … I’m just going to do my best to show up here and contribute to the team."

Before the 2011 NFL Draft, at least one NFL general manager admitted that he shied away from Ellis because of the pending legal issues. "That was big for us," the GM told ESPNNewYork.com's Rich Cimini at the time. "It's a pain in the tail, the whole legal issue."

This obviously wasn't a problem for Ryan and general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who had previously dealt with Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards and Antonio Cromartie, players who arrived in New York with baggage from prior stops in their NFL journeys. In fact, the team said it was comfortable with the risk of taking Ellis after doing its due diligence.

And Ryan seems as happy now with that decision as he did a year ago, praising the defensive tackle as one of the Jets' most improved players this offseason.  "Now you are starting to see what I believe was there," the coach said.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and subscribe to our Pick-6 Podcast and NFL newsletter. You can follow Ryan Wilson on Twitter here: @ryanwilson_07.