Michigan State Football: Don’t panic about potential Audric Estime flip

Audric Estime just received a big offer from Notre Dame, but Michigan State football fans shouldn’t hit that panic button just yet.

Notre Dame made things for Michigan State a lot tougher on Monday afternoon as the Irish extended one of the biggest offers in the class to four-star running back Audric Estime.

Mel Tucker and his staff have regarded Estime as the top player on the board for the Spartans and having him sign in this week’s 2021 Early Signing Period would be huge. The staff is pushing for him to remain with the green and white, but there are plenty of experts who believe the Notre Dame offer was the one the quick-rising running back was waiting for.

Right now, Notre Dame has a commitment from three-star running back Logan Diggs and Brian Kelly is also pushing for five-star Donovan Edwards, but Estime has the head coach’s attention.

Even with this offer and subsequent 247Sports Crystal Balls pouring in for Estime to Notre Dame, it’s not worth panicking over. Sure, Estime is one of the best recruits at the position Michigan State has ever landed and he may not end up in the Spartans’ 2021 class after all, but the position is set for years to come with Jordon Simmons looking like the future and Davion Primm also committed in 2021.

Plus, Estime had this to say about the Notre Dame offer and potential signing this week, per Adam Friedman of Rivals.com:

"“Things stand pretty strong with Michigan State right now, honestly,” he said. “I’m still committed and this offer is just another offer. I’ve established strong relationships with the coaching staff. They trust me and I trust them.“They really want me to sign this week,” Estime said. “They’ve been telling me that I’m their top guy and the leader of this class. They’ve wanted me from day one this much.”"

That should put fans’ minds at ease a bit even though commits have said this before and still ended up choosing a different school in the end. If he ends up signing this week, the panic can subside and even if he doesn’t, MSU is in good hands at the position for a while.