Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Irish flip Michigan State 4-Star running back commit Audric Estime

It’s a heck of a way to close out the early signing period for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. On Friday, 4-Star RB Audric Estime flipped his commitment from the Michigan State Spartans and signed with Notre Dame.

The 6’2” 215 pound back from New Jersey had been committed to Sparty since September, but the Irish kept strong communication with him over the process, and Estime got an offer earlier this week.

Estime is unlike any Irish back on the roster, and brings natural power to the position at Notre Dame. He averaged over 10 yards per carry against the toughest competition in New Jersey. Besides the Spartans, Estime held offers from around the country including the Iowa Hawkeyes, Virginia Tech Hokies, Arizona State Sun Devils, and more.

While current Irish RB commit Logan Diggs has still not sent in his NLI, the assumption is that at some point from now until February’s signing day, that will be done. Kelly said they wanted two running backs in this class, and a Estime / Diggs combination is a really strong one.

247’s Gabe Brooks offers this evaluation:

Big-bodied back with college-ready size. Owns the build and functional athleticism to serve as high-volume, every-down back at the P5 level. Showed noticeably improved home run-hitting ability in senior season. Production improved every year from sophomore to junior to senior campaigns. Impressive 10.5 yards per carry in 2020. A load when accelerating downhill. Hole-puncher with dangerous one-cut ability. Generally patient runner with good vision. Does not search for unnecessary contact but finishes runs when required. Capable pass-catcher out of the backfield in relatively limited reps. As is typical for bigger backs, gears down to redirect. Shows some lateral wiggle at the second level but not likely to string together moves in the open field vs. high-major competition. Play speed is good but lacks verified context in combine or track setting. Not overworked but worth noting 550 touches in 29 games sophomore through senior seasons. One of the better backs nationally in the 2021 class. Looks like a high-floor prospect who could contribute early and start multiple years in a power conference with long-term potential to play beyond college.

Audric Estime is the 27th commitment and the 26th signing for Notre Dame’s 2021 class — a class that figures to finish inside the top 10 for the team recruiting rankings.

This has been a strong finish for the Irish over the last few months, and this class holds 7 players that were once committed elsewhere.