Listed measurements: 5-foot-11 ½, 227 pounds.
2023-24 year, eligibility: A junior, Estimé has two seasons of eligibility remaining, but it should be assumed he will use only one of them.
Depth Chart: Estimé will be Notre Dame’s bellcow back, particularly until a clear No. 2 is found among sophomores Gi’Bran Payne and Jadarian Price, and Penn State graduate transfer DeVyn Ford.
Recruiting: The No. 6 running back in the country, per rivals.com, Estimé was committed to Michigan State for three months before the December signing period in 2020. Then two days before he could sign his National Letter of Intent, the Irish offered Estimé a scholarship.
He had received plenty of interest in those three months. The consensus four-star recruit had not wavered for Iowa State, Virginia Tech or Texas A&M, but Notre Dame managed to flip him by the end of the week.
CAREER TO DATE
Estimé played in 12 games as a freshman but took just 18 offensive snaps. The year of eligibility seemed wasted, but for a running back, the idea of a star using all four of his collegiate years is far-fetched.
Estimé looked like the No. 2 back entering last season, but it was quickly apparent he would be the lead Irish ball carrier. Logan Diggs, now at LSU, actually took more carries (165 to 156, with Diggs playing in one fewer game), but Estimé led Notre Dame in yards, yards per rush and touchdowns. His physical style wore down opponents to make life easier for Diggs and now-receiver Chris Tyree (100 carries).
2021: 12 games; seven rushes for 60 yards including six carries for 61 yards against Georgia Tech.
2022: 13 games; 156 rushes for 920 yards and 11 touchdowns; nine catches for 135 yards and one touchdown.
#NotreDame RB Audric Estime spent some time signing autographs and talking with fans at Dick’s in Mishawaka this afternoon.
— Bennett Wise WSBT (@BennettWiseWSBT) May 21, 2023
A neat NIL opportunity and chance to interact with the South Bend community. #GoIrish☘️ | @WSBT pic.twitter.com/UL4H9MiU9g
QUOTES
Estimé excelled at long but not breakaway runs last year. For a dominant back that was rarely tackled for a loss, he also rarely got away from defenders. Simply looking at Estimé’s game log reveals as much: He had only one game with a carry longer than 30 yards, breaking loose for 46 against BYU; six other games featured long runs of more than 20 yards.
Estimé lacked breakaway speed. Thus, he entered this offseason intent on losing some weight, though not muscle.
“The first step was losing body fat,” he said in April. “Going into this offseason, I [challenged] myself to be more strict on my diet and be more mindful of the calories I’m taking in, all the supplements I’m taking. I lost a good amount of weight, a good amount of body fat, but my muscle and my muscle mass all stayed up there. I feel like that kind of helped me.”
It did not go unnoticed.
“He’s more twitchy,” Irish running backs coach Deland McCullough said in April. “He’s more explosive. That’s very evident. It gave him another step that we really can see.
“I meet with him very often just about how we can improve his game and some of those things. Coming into January, that was something that we talked with the nutritionist about, just trimming him down a little bit.”
As anyone who has tackled a long-term diet knows, the trick to Estimé’s success was not cutting out his vices, but moderating them. One in particular.
“I just learned, like in life, if you want something, you have to make sacrifices,” he said. “Me, not gonna lie, I like eating a lot. So that was a sacrifice I had to make.
“Instead of eating (Raising) Cane’s two times a week, I have to eat Cane’s every other week. That’s just being more disciplined.”
WHAT WAS PROJECTED A YEAR AGO
“If Estime proves both capable of picking up first downs and durable under the burden of double-digit carries each week, then Notre Dame’s 2022 prospects will rise. If Estime cannot handle that workload well, the Irish offense will simply not have enough skill-position players to run a productive approach all season.
“A Diggs full-go return by the end of September would mitigate the impact of a struggling Estime, but the dearth of depth at running back would likely catch up to Notre Dame in time.
“Those may seem exaggerated standards for a sophomore with seven career carries to his name, but that is the drastic nature of the Irish running backs room at the moment. Tyree, Estime and incoming freshman Gi’Bran Payne are the only healthy ball carriers entering the preseason. Tyree and Estime need to handle the workload between the two of them to start the season, while also running some routes to spell Notre Dame’s few receivers. (One could not fault the Irish coaching staff if it put a red jersey on Tyree for the preseason to protect him from injury.)
“In September alone, Estime should get at least 25 carries. If he is getting more than that, then it can be presumed he is picking up first downs and running over defenders as his physique suggests he should. At that point, Diggs’ need will be lessened, and he can be sure his shoulder is completely healthy before taking a handoff.
“Too little has been seen of Estime on the field to offer a prediction for how his season will go, but only one look at the Irish depth chart makes it clear the impact he will have, one way or the other.”
Notre Dame RB Audric Estimé last season:
— PFF College (@PFF_College) July 10, 2023
☘️ 86.5 Rushing Grade
☘️ 11 Touchdowns
☘️ 41 Missed Tackles Forced
☘️ 30 Carries of 10+ Yards pic.twitter.com/8FSH9ykFuW
2023 OUTLOOK
Estimé shared the Irish backfield with Tyree and Diggs last season, neither of which will take carries from him this year. But not all of their 265 carries should fall to him, that would be reckless. Payne, Price and Ford will sort themselves into a supplementary order to handle some of that workload, but none should pull much from Estimé.
He has always looked the part. Last year he played it. Now he should own it. Workhorse, bellcow, possible All-American, pick your noun. It will apply to Estimé in 2023.
What will that look like? Probably about 200 carries and 1,200 yards with 14 or 15 touchdowns. There is your statistical projection.
What would it take to blow past that? First of all, a few long runs. Estimé had 30 carries of more than 10 yards last season, but just one longer than 30. Turn half a dozen of the former into the latter and not only does that add approximately 120 yards to the total, but it also probably brings a few SportsCenter-esque highlights.
Josh Adams had the luxury of two top-10 picks on the left side of the offensive line (tackle Mike McGlinchey, guard Quenton Nelson) creating holes wide enough for your average sedan to cruise through back in 2017. But Adams also had just enough speed to break away from defenders. By no means was Adams outright fast, anyone arguing he was is offering a revisionist’s history. Yet he had at least one carry longer than 30 yards in eight games, ripping off 70-plus yard dashes in four straight games in the middle of the season.
Those highlights launched his brief Heisman campaign. The 1,430 yards and nine touchdowns were nice, but those long scores, particularly against USC, set Adams apart from other running backs across the country.
If the initial Estimé projection here was 200ish carries and 1,200 yards, adding 120 yards via long runs would start to put him into Adams’s territory, and probably with more total touchdowns.
Avoiding another game-costing fumble should be an imperative, but then again, being able to run away from defenders would make that less likely because 1) they will not be able to so easily square up Estimé and 2) long touchdowns should make scores more lopsided.
But even that Cardinal mistake is largely forgotten. Such is the impressive potential in Estimé in 2023.
Hey @NDTheLeprechaun, how did @AudricEstime do?#SweetFeetEstime☘️ pic.twitter.com/lfB8iBqlLB
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) March 13, 2023
DOWN THE ROAD
There is a bit of a labor impasse between NFL running backs and NFL ownership at the moment, but it primarily applies to the absolute best running backs in the league. Estimé should believe he’ll be one of those, but he should also act and plan as if he will not be. An approach akin to “hope for the best, plan for the worst.”
Thus, even that impasse will not change the math of a proven running back returning for his senior season. Don’t do it. Name, image and likeness rights have not meaningfully changed that math.
Running backs’ careers are too short-lived to spend an additional season playing at a massive discount. Estimé needs to head to the NFL and maximize his earnings as soon as he can, which should be the 2024 draft.
NOTRE DAME 99-TO-0
The summer countdown begins anew, Rylie Mills to Deion Colzie
No. 99 Rylie Mills, senior defensive tackle, moving back inside from end
No. 98 Devan Houstan, early-enrolled four-star defensive tackle
No. 97 Gabriel Rubio, junior defensive tackle, one of three Irish DTs with notable experience
No. 95 Tyson Ford, sophomore defensive tackle, up 30 pounds from a year ago
No. 93 Armel Mukam, incoming freshman defensive end, former Stanford commit
No. 92 Aidan Keanaaina, a senior defensive tackle now ‘fully healthy’ after a 2022 torn ACL
No. 91 Aiden Gobaira, sophomore defensive end, former four-star recruit
No. 88 Mitchell Evans, the next starter at ‘TE U
No. 87 Cooper Flanagan, incoming freshman tight end, four-star recruit
No. 84 Kevin Bauman, senior tight end coming off a torn ACL
No. 83 Jayden Thomas, junior receiver, probable No. 1 target in 2023
No. 79 Tosh Baker, senior tackle, again a backup but next year ...
No. 78 Pat Coogan, junior interior offensive lineman
No. 77 Ty Chan, sophomore offensive tackle, former four-star recruit
No. 76 Joe Alt, first-team All-American left tackle
No. 75 Sullivan Absher, incoming freshman offensive lineman
No. 74 Billy Schrauth, sophomore left guard, likely starter
No. 73 Andrew Kristofic, fifth-year right guard, likely starter
No. 72 Sam Pendelton, early-enrolled freshman offensive lineman
No. 70 Ashton Craig, sophomore interior offensive lineman
No. 68 Michael Carmody, senior offensive lineman
No. 65 Michael Vinson, sixth-year long snapper, four-year starter
No. 64 Joe Otting, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 59 Aamil Wagner, sophomore offensive tackle
No. 56 Charles Jagusah, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 56 Howard Cross, fifth-year defensive tackle, multi-year starter
No. 55 Chris Terek, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 54 Blake Fisher, junior right tackle, second-year starter
No. 52 Zeke Correll, fifth-year center, third-year starter
No. 51 Boubacar Traore, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 50 Rocco Spindler, junior offensive guard
No. 47 Jason Onye, junior defensive tackle on the verge of playing time
No. 44 Junior Tuihalamaka, sophomore defensive end, former linebacker
No. 42 Nolan Ziegler, sophomore linebacker, Irish legacy
No. 41 Donovan Hinish, sophomore defensive tackle following in his brother’s footsteps
No. 40 Joshua Burnham, sophomore linebacker-turned-Vyper end
No. 38 Davis Sherwood, junior fullback/H-back, former walk-on
No. 34 Drayk Bowen, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, baseball infielder
No. 32 Spencer Shrader, South Florida transfer kicker
No. 31 Nana Osafo-Mensah, fifth-year defensive end
No. 29 Christian Gray, early-enrolled freshman cornerback coming off a knee injury
No. 29 Matt Salerno, sixth-year receiver, former walk-on
No. 27 JD Bertrand, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, possible captain
No. 25 Preston Zinter, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, subtle recruiting win
No. 24 Jack Kiser, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, most efficient defender
No. 24 Jadarian Price, sophomore RB, reportedly recovered from an Achilles injury
No. 23 Jaiden Ausberry, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, four-star recruit
No. 22 Ben Minich, early-enrolled freshman safety, four-star recruit
No. 22 Jeremiyah Love, incoming freshman running back, four-star recruit
No. 21 Adon Shuler, early-enrolled freshman safety coming off shoulder surgery
No. 20 Benjamin Morrison, sophomore cornerback, preseason All-American
No. 19 Jaden Greathouse, early-enrolled freshman receiver, Blue-Gold Game star
No. 18 Steve Angeli, sophomore quarterback, competing for the backup role
No. 18 Chance Tucker, junior cornerback
No. 17 Brenan Vernon, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 17 Rico Flores Jr., early-enrolled freshman receiver, four-star recruit
No. 16 Micah Bell, incoming freshman cornerback, speedy four-star recruit
No. 15 Ryan Barnes, junior cornerback
No. 14 Bryce McFerson, sophomore punter facing a challenge for a second straight year
No. 14 Braylon James, early-enrolled freshman receiver, four-star recruit
No. 13 Holden Staes, sophomore tight end, up 20 pounds in a year
No. 13 Thomas Harper, Oklahoma State graduate transfer safety/nickel back
No. 12 Penn State RB transfer Devyn Ford gives Notre Dame newly-needed backfield depth, experience
No. 12 Jordan Botelho, senior Vyper defensive end
No. 11 KK Smith, incoming freshman receiver, speedster
No. 11 Ramon Henderson, senior safety
No. 10 Sam Hartman, Wake Forest graduate transfer quarterback, QB1
No. 9 Eli Raridon, sophomore tight end coming off a second ACL tear
No. 8 Kenny Minchey, early-enrolled freshman quarterback, former Pittsburgh commit
No. 8 Marist Liufau, fifth-year linebacker, second season as a starter
No. 4 Rhode Island transfer safety Antonio Carter gives Notre Dame desperately needed backline depth
