How Fiesta Bowl gives Notre Dame freshman RB Audric Estime big opportunity
Life without Kyren Williams is a foreign concept.
Newly named Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman doesn’t know what it’s like. Graduate student quarterback Jack Coan doesn’t know what it’s like. Heck, sophomore running back Chris Tyree doesn’t even know what it’s like.
For two straight seasons — 24 straight games — No. 23 was a staple of the Notre Dame offense. And now the No. 5 Fighting Irish (11-1) are without him in their biggest game of the season, Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl against No. 9 Oklahoma State (11-2) at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. (1 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Williams opted out of the Fiesta Bowl to prepare for the 2022 NFL Draft. He ran 415 times for 2,127 yards and 27 touchdowns over the last two seasons. Notre Dame will play a game without him for the first time since the 2019 Camping World Bowl.
The good news for Notre Dame? Williams made everyone around him better.
“There’s a wave of consistency that you have to have as an every-down back,” Tyree said. “I have learned that as I played with Kyren and just being in the room with him. He has a lot of great habits that set the standard for what we have to do in the future.
“And honestly, just learning from him and just being in the room with him, I'm pretty confident in myself and the other guys with me.”
Williams was a true freshman the last time he didn’t contribute in a blue and gold uniform on game day. He redshirted with Tony Jones Jr., Jafar Armstrong and C’Bo Flemister all ahead of him on the depth chart. Williams’ early departure from the program has opened an avenue for two current true freshmen to accomplish something Williams didn’t have the chance to: play a significant role in a significant bowl game in year one at Notre Dame.
Freshman Logan Diggs had already been trending toward that opportunity with Williams still in the lineup. He blossomed into Williams’ backup when Tyree was sidelined with turf toe, an injury he said he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy. Fellow freshman Audric Estime, though, only recorded carries in one game during the regular season.
Had Williams not opted out, Estime probably wouldn't be in line for much action on offense against the Cowboys. But the dynamic has gone from central star to running back by committee, and Estime fits firmly into that group despite totaling just six carries compared to the 92 split between Tyree (50) and Diggs (42).
The sample size is incredibly small and only came against one opponent (Georgia Tech), but Estime’s 10.2 yards per carry average is the best on the team among running backs.
“He’s going to have an opportunity to make an impact,” Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said. “You saw him play well in some limited snaps down the stretch here. And we want to see that moving forward with the first group and going against the first defense.”
Estime’s 228-pound frame presents a bruising style of play the 199-pound Williams could only try to replicate in pound-for-pound strength. Williams was tough to take down in his own way, but Estime’s natural size is impossible to replicate.
Perhaps Diggs worked his way into an on-field role sooner than Estime because at 206 pounds, he’s almost a hybrid of Estime and the home-run-hitting, 190-pound Tyree. Versatility speaks volumes.
So too does splitting the workload, though. Especially in this era of college football.
What Williams was able to do as a true lead back the last two seasons was quite remarkable. The list of running backs who recorded 200-plus carries in each of the last two seasons is short; Williams, Iowa State’s Breece Hall and UTSA’s Sincere McCormick. That’s it. That's the list.
Notre Dame doesn’t find itself in a situation in which it can dump all of those carries onto one player. Maybe if Tyree never lost time to turf toe he’d be in a position to be a true lead back, but he has not shouldered even secondary reps since the injury. And Diggs is still just a freshman. This would be a big spot for him to receive a lion's share of the load.
So when Freeman said Monday Notre Dame is going to put forth a “running back show by committee,” he meant it. Committees are comprised of more than two characters. Estime is a part of the committee. What better time for a coming out party than the Fiesta Bowl?
“With all three of us being together and all three of us rotating, it will be really exciting to see,” Tyree said.
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @MikeTSinger, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.