NFL Combine: Notre Dame RB Audric Estime sings, talks mom looking down on him

The photo below was used since the star NFL draft RB smiles a lot, has a great personality

For those who have followed the NFL Combine for years, you are well aware that the two most important things that happen are teams interviewing players and the medical testing. Everything else, including all the stuff placed on TV for “Primetime” events, is barely even watched by NFL folks.

The media also gets a chance to meet with most of the prospects. It used to be that the only players that didn’t interview were just caught up with medical tests that kept them from their times or some kind of big event like Jalen Carter last year as news broke just before he was set to speak.

In 2024, WR Marvin Harrison Jr. was all of a sudden not going to speak to the media. We hope that isn’t a precedent-setting event. Media interviews are a great way for fanbases to get to know college guys and for college fans to celebrate their favorites.

RB Audric Estime, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish star, took full advantage of the opportunity to give a look into who he is. Not only was Estime open in talking about his mother looking down on him but he also gave the media a quick sample of his signing with Sweet Caroline (Twitter autocorrected to Carolina):

The request to sing a song came after I asked about who Estime was off the field and he started with cooking before mentioning singing:

On the field, the Fighting Irish product often lauded his coaches and the opportunities he had going to Notre Dame. Estime talked about spending time in Ireland and all the fans and culture he experienced over there.

Expected to be one of the first running backs to come off the board, Estime noted that they ran a lot of inside zone with the Irish which makes it his favorite play:

Inside zone could see a large increase for the Cleveland Browns offense with QB Deshaun Watson’s ability in run-pass options and zone-read concepts.

Estime has often noted that his mother gave him the foundation of his character and love for football. His mom passed when he was 10 years old from sickle cell disease. The Notre Dame product was open talking about her when prompted:

With his answer about leadership, it is obvious that the foundation Estime’s mother laid was built upon well:

Too often players trying to prove themselves or fighting to be high draft picks are focused on themselves instead of “bring other guys along with me” attitude.

For the Browns, Estime could be a perfect fit to ease Nick Chubb’s transition back from injury and compliment him later in the year. The Consensus Big Board has Estime as the sixth-best back in the draft but there is a “pick your flavor” feel to the group this year.

He’s projected as a third-round pick in this year’s NFL draft but the depth of the position could create a bottleneck of backs getting pushed down a little later than expected.

How important is drafting a back for the Browns this year? As you watch Estime answer questions, does it have any impact on your thoughts of him as a player?