Notre Dame Football

Notre Dame RB Audric Estimè Has Declared for the 2024 NFL Draft

By Matt Freeman

December 13, 2023

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Notre Dame running back Audric Estimè will pass the torch as the No. 1 back for the Fighting Irish as the 5-foot-11, 227-pounder has declared for the 2024 NFL Draft.

Estimè won’t play in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, but he did leave Irish fans will quite the memory in his final game as he ran for 238 yards and four touchdowns against Stanford to end the regular season.

“First, I want to start by saying how thankful I am to be a part of such a great and loving community like Notre Dame, Estimè said in a statement. “Playing in front of the best fans in the world every Saturday was a dream come true. Notre Dame’s high standards of excellence helped me become who I am today.

“To all the coaches, teammates and athletic trainers along the way, I’m thankful to have had your guidance to help me excel at this game. To Coach Freeman, thank you for allowing me to be part of this great team where I made friendships and memories that I will cherish forever. To Coach Deland, I am so thankful to you for giving me an opportunity of a lifetime and being a great mentor in my life. Right when we united, we sat down and made a plan. This is me executing that plan with the help and loving support of my family and friends, who have been with me every step of the way.

“After a lot of thought and consideration, I have made the decision to leave school early and opt out of the bowl game to pursue a lifelong dream of mine. I am officially declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft.

“While I won’t be playing in the Sun Bowl, I do plan to be in El Paso to support my Notre Dame family and I hope to see you there.”

The New Jersey native was Notre Dame’s workhorse over the last two seasons as he ran for over 2,220 yards and scored 29 touchdowns during his sophomore and junior seasons.

In 2023, Estimè ran 210 times for 1,341 yards and 18 touchdowns, which included him topping the 100-yard mark six times and scored multiple touchdowns in five games while averaging an incredible 6.4 yards per carry, yet was not named a Doak Walker Award semifinalist.

Estimè also finished as PFF’s highest-graded running back and No. 4 in the country with 892 yards after contact.

For his career, Estimè’s 2,321 career rushing yards will finish No. 11 all-time at Notre Dame and just 20 yards behind George Gipp. Estimè’s 18 rushing touchdowns in 2023 broke the school record previously held by Vagas Ferguson and Allen Pinkett.

The Audric Estimè File
2023 ESPN Midseason All-American team
2023 Capital One Orange Bowl FWAA Courage Award nominee
2023 Associated Press Midseason All-American First Team
2023 The Sporting News Midseason All-American
2023 CBS Sports Midseason All-American
2023 ESPN Midseason All-American
2023 Doak Walker Award Watch List