INDIANAPOLIS — There was never a doubt that former Notre Dame running back Audric Estimé would entertain when he stepped to the microphone for his NFL Scouting Combine media session Friday morning.
But who could have guessed he would have broken into song?
The sequence started when Estimé was asked about his personality off the field. He first mentioned that he liked to cook and draw. And then …
“I like to sing, but some people might not think I'm the best singer, but I think I'm a really good singer,” Estimé said.
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That opened the door for a reporter to ask Estimé for his go-to karaoke song.
“You pick and I can sing it,” Estimé boasted. “I don't know if I'm gonna sing it right now, but I can sing it all.”
The reporter from Boston requested Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” And Estimé delivered.
“Sweet Caroline, bum, bum, bum,” Estimé sang. “A little sample.”
Estimé pleased the crowd so much that he was later asked to sing some more. He passed on the invitation between answering questions about his football career — one that will be much more lucrative than a singing career would be for him.
Estimé’s Notre Dame career came to a close in the regular season finale at Stanford, a 56-23 victory in which Estimé recorded career highs in rushing attempts (25), rushing yards (238) and rushing touchdowns (4). He later chose to skip the Sun Bowl.
“Honestly, felt good to just go out and finish the regular season with my team like that,” he said. “All the hard work we put in. We started it back in last January with winter workouts, and to just be able to finish on a high note like that. But personally, that was a career game for me. I didn't know it was my last game at that point but to look back at it and just think that I finished my career like that, is a way I feel very satisfied.”
Estimé had plenty of highlights during the final two seasons of his Notre Dame. As a sophomore in 2022, he rushed 156 times for 920 yards and nine touchdowns. He capped 2023 with 210 carries for 1,341 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Like former Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams did following his 2021 junior season, Estimé chose to make the early jump to the NFL in an effort to maximize the mileage available in his legs. Williams, a fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft, has already made the Los Angeles Rams looks smart for selecting him. He finished the 2023 season as the third-leading rusher in the NFL with 1,144 yards with the 13th-most carries (228).
In his combine workout Saturday in Lucas Oil Stadium, Estimé hopes to show off his athleticism.
“I'm a big back, but I can do it all,” he said. “I can run routes. I'm quick, but I'm also fast. I have long speed. I'm just an every-down back, a three-down back. I plan to show them that I’m the best running back in the draft.”
Statistics aside, Estimé has a catalog of impressive clips he can put in front of NFL personnel. He’s hurdled defenders. He’s stonewalled pass rushers. He’s done a little bit of everything.
His favorite running scheme? Well, that’s the one that puts the ball in his hands.
“I love all runs. I love running the ball, but ... we're a very heavy inside zone team, so I fell in love with inside zone.”
Estimé compared his running style to seven-time Pro Bowler, 2012 NFL MVP and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson.
“The reason is because he's a big guy, a big physical guy,” Estimé said. “He runs like he has to pay his bills, and that's how I run. But he's also a guy that moves like a smaller back. He's very light on his feet. He's very quick and fast. … He can run routes. He can pass protect. He could do it all.”
Estimé mastered his craft at Notre Dame with the tutelage of running backs coach Deland McCullough, who spent three seasons coaching the position for the Kansas City Chiefs. Estimé and his fellow Irish running backs have performed so well that McCullough added the title of associate head coach earlier this year.
“Coach McCullough, he deserves everything that he's given,” Estimé said. “He's a great mentor in my life. He's a great coach, smart guy, but he's more than a coach. He honestly cares about his players deeply. He's a big family guy, and I really like that about him and the lessons that he taught me. I'll cherish them. They'll last for me forever.”
Whatever happens next for Estimé, he’ll carry on the legacy of his late mother, Bertha Noisette. She died 11 years ago fighting sickle cell disease. She launched Estimé’s football career by putting him in the sport as a five-year-old.
Whether he’s playing football or making people laugh with his singing, he knows he’s making her proud.
“I know she's looking down on me and smiling,” Estimé said. “Just all the hard work I put in, and she laid the foundation. Seeing what she had to go through to overcome adversity. She was very sick going in and out of the hospital, but at times, me and my brother didn't even tell. That's how well she was covering it.
“But her work ethic, honestly, I feel like is what paid off on me the most. But she's very proud of me, and I just got to keep on making her proud.”
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