NFL Combine workout live blog, Day 3: Tracking former Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman and RB Audric Estimé

The most anticipated day of the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine is here. And former Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman and running back Audric Estimé are a part of it. 

Hartman and Estimé are two of many quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs set to workout in front of NFL evaluators on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. 

Former Fighting Irish linebacker Marist Liufau and EDGE Javontae Jean-Baptiste worked out Thursday. Cornerback Cam Hart performed on Friday. Linebacker JD Bertrand was supposed to participate in Thursday’s session. However, he was spotted on the field with a boot on his right foot. Offensive linemen Joe Alt and Blake Fisher compete on Sunday.

Estimé forewent his final year of collegiate eligibility to enter the 2024 NFL Draft. He ended his Irish career with 2,321 yards and 29 touchdowns. Four media outlets named him a second-team All-American following his 2023 campaign. He hopes to hear his name called on Day 2 of the NFL Draft in May. 

“Thickly muscled runner capable of wearing out defenses through a heavier workload,” NFL analyst Lance Zierlein said. “There were times Estimé played too slowly when forced to process moving pieces up front, but he showed a greater willingness to cut it loose as the season progressed. He’s naturally powerful with adequate foot agility. 

“Estimé doesn’t have the bend to be a one-cut runner but can make reactive cuts to sudden tacklers near the line of scrimmage. If he can hit the gas with a heavier foot, he’ll continue to break tackles and maximize yardage after contact. He’s a better weapon out of the backfield than he might get credit for being, and he could check into the league as part of a two-headed running attack with the ability to shine near the goal line.”

NFL.com projects Estimé to be a good backup with the potential to develop into a starter. 

Hartman exhausted all six years of his college eligibility before entering the 2024 NFL Draft. He spent five seasons at Wake Forest prior to transferring to Notre Dame in 2023. In one year with the Irish, he completed 191-301 passes (63.5%) for 2,689 yards and 24 touchdowns. 

“Solidly built but shorter, Hartman plays with a competitive temperament but a lack of consistency,” Zierlein said. “He can play inside structure, but he’s an improv-oriented passer at heart. He has big hands to pump and reset the football, and his Wake Forest tape showed a player capable of beating defenses on extended plays. 

“(Hartman) processes quickly and can go from read to throw in an instant, but the arm strength is average and could be exploited by ball-hawking defenders. There are flashes on tape that can be compelling, but his lack of physical traits and high turnover totals during his career could limit him into a role as an average backup.”

NFL.com projects Hartman to become an average NFL backup. 

Blue & Gold will have live updates of Hartman and Estimé’s workouts. You can follow along here. 

Live updates: Notre Dame at the NFL Combine Day 3 workouts

4:57 p.m. ET: Estimé’s and Hartman’s workouts are complete.

4:30 p.m. ET: NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah compliments Hartman for one of his throws. Analyst Charles Davis also applauded the pass.

4:21 p.m. ET: Jeremiah on Hartman as he goes through his throwing session: “His (question) is going to be the horsepower. Does he have enough velocity that he can generate? He’s going to rely on touch and accuracy, but can he power the football.”

3:16 p.m. ET: Hartman runs a 4.81-second (unofficial) 40-yard dash on his second try. Fans cheer him on during his second run.

3:15 p.m. ET: NFL Network reporter Stacey Dales offers a report on Hartman and what he anticipates at the next level.

“He said he just wants to make a team,” Dales said during her report of Hartman. “He wants a team to take a chance on him and give him a shot. Bring all that knowledge, all that wealth (of it), and just have an opportunity at the next level.”

3:14 p.m. ET: Hartman’s first crack at the 40-yard dash time is an unofficial 4.8 seconds. Fans in attendance erupted after Hartman’s run, and he acknowledged them by asking for more applause. Former Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy also applauded Hartman.

“The number he ran at 4.80, that’s the target,” Jeremiah said. “You look at the quarterbacks that were top 10 in passing yards last year, their average 40 was 4.80. So, he hit it on the nose.”

3:12 p.m. ET: NFL Network’s Rich Eisen notes Hartman is the only quarterback in the group to run a 40-yard dash. Eisen and Jeremiah rave about Hartman’s hairstyle.

“He’s played a ton of football,” Jeremiah said. “It was a different-style offense when he was at Wake Forest — that slow mesh, where they kind of ride the running back for a long time.

“Then, he goes to Notre Dame, made some key plays in key moments. The question is just the pure, top-shelf arm strength. But (he’s) very athletic. He can run around, make plays. He’s someone that’s bringing a lot of experience to the NFL.”

3 p.m. ET: Hartman and Tennessee’s Joe Milton were the only quarterbacks participating in the vertical and broad jump. Hartman had a 28.5-inch vertical and 8-foot, 10-inch broad jump. Milton recorded 35 inches and 10-feet, 1-inch in the respective events.

2:18 p.m. ET: The official 40-yard dash times are in. Estimé’s 40-yard dash was 4.71 seconds, last among running backs.

1:56 p.m. ET: As running backs begin on-field drills, Jeremiah asks analyst Charles Davis if he expects Estimé to run a 4.72. “No, that was a major surprise to me,” Davis said. “I thought he would be in the high 4.5s, low 4.6s.”

1:32 p.m. ET: Estimé’s second 40-yard dash time is 4.72 seconds.

“That was the one that most surprised me,” Jeremiah said. “I thought he played much faster than that number.”

1:15 p.m. ET: Estimé records a 4.72-second 40-yard dash (unofficial) on his first attempt.

1:10 p.m. ET: Estimé notched a 38-inch vertical, which ranked fifth among 21 running backs. Louisville’s Isaac Guerendo had the top mark at 41.5 inches.

1 p.m. ET: Running backs will begin their on-field workouts.

12:56 p.m. ET: Estimé registers a 10-foot, 5-inch broad jump, ranked third among 20 running backs participating in the event.

Guerendo had the top mark at 10 feet, 9 inches.

12:32 p.m. ET: Hartman measures 6-1⅛ and 211 pounds. Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports states that Hartman has 31⅜-inch arms and 9 6/8-inch hands. Robinson also reports his wingspan was 75 2/8 inches.

11:24 a.m. ET: Estimé checks in at 5-foot-11⅜ and 221 pounds. His arms are 32⅜ inches, and his hand size is 10¼ inches. Estimé also has a 76 4/8-inch wingspan, according to Robinson.

Estimé is down six pounds from his Notre Dame playing weight in 2023.