The eight former Notre Dame football players invited to 2024 NFL Combine
Notre Dame will be well represented at the upcoming NFL Scouting Combine. Eight former Fighting Irish players have received invites to participate in drills in Indianapolis later this month, the league announced Tuesday morning.
Here’s the full list.
- Quarterback Sam Hartman
- Running back Audric Estimé
- Offensive tackle Joe Alt
- Offensive tackle Blake Fisher
- Cornerback Cam Hart
- Linebacker JD Bertrand
- Linebacker Marist Liufau
- Defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste
It’s a good mix of representation for the Irish, from graduate students who stuck around for the long haul of five years in Hart, Bertrand and Liufau to one-year transfer rentals in Hartman and Jean-Baptiste. Estimé, Alt and Fisher were all true juniors who skipped their opportunity at a senior season in South Bend to enter the draft early. Bertrand, Hart, Hartman and Alt were also Notre Dame team captains in 2023, with Bertrand being a two-time captain who also served in 2022.
Of the eight, Alt, Estimé, Fisher and Hart feel like locks to hear their names called in April’s draft no matter what happens at the combine.
Alt is a potential top-10 overall pick. Estimé had one of the best seasons of any running back in college football last year. Fisher is more of a project than Alt at tackle, but his upside is immense. Hart, when healthy, is exactly what NFL teams crave in a lengthy cover corner. He helped his draft stock quite a bit with a good week of practices at the Senior Bowl a few weeks ago.
Notre Dame had three players picked in last year’s draft; tight end Michael Mayer and defensive end Isaiah Foskey were selected in the second round, and offensive lineman Jarrett Patterson went in the sixth round. In 2022, first-round choice Kyle Hamilton and fifth-round pick Kyren Williams were Notre Dame’s only draft selections. This year might shape up to be Notre Dame’s most prolific draft year since eight players were picked in 2021.
Notre Dame has produced more NFL Draft picks than any other collegiate program with 522. Irish rival USC is second with 519. What happens in Indy in the last few days of February and the first half of the first week in March could determine if Notre Dame goes over the handful mark of draft picks this year. Those workouts and interviews will be critical for fringe draft players like Hartman, Liufau and Jean-Baptiste. Bertrand is feeling more and more like a lock after a big week of his own at the Senior Bowl.
Combine workouts officially begin on Feb. 29 and can be viewed on NFL Network and NFL+.
