Notre Dame's Audric Estime declares for draft, will skip Sun Bowl

Notre Damerunning back Audric Estime, who set a team single-season record for rushing touchdowns this season, declared for the NFL draft Thursday.

Estime will not play for the 16th-ranked Irish against No. 19 Oregon State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on Dec. 29 in El Paso, Texas, although he plans to attend the game. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. ranks Estime as his No. 3 draft-eligible running back, while ESPN's Matt Miller has Estime at No. 2. Estime earned second-team AP All-America honors this fall.

The 5-foot-11, 227-pound junior from Nyack, New York, emerged as Notre Dame's featured running back in 2022, when he led the team with 920 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Estime built on those totals this fall, recording 1,341 rushing yards -- the fifth-highest total in team history -- and 18 touchdowns. He ran for a career-high 238 yards and four touchdowns in Notre Dame's regular-season finale at Stanford.

In a post on X, Estime thanked his coaches and teammates while adding, "I have always pictured myself competing at the highest level, and with that comes preparation. So, for the next couple months, I will be following the journey that God is envisioning for me."

Estime joins several other Notre Dame standouts who are opting out of the bowl game, including quarterback Sam Hartman, offensive tackle Joe Alt and cornerback Cam Hart, who also declared for the draft Thursday.