Michigan State continues to hit New Jersey hard on the recruiting front, and it’s paying off.

Sunday, the Spartans landed a verbal commitment from heavily-recruited 3-star running back Audric Estime out of Montvale, N.J. He’s now the third player out of the state to give his verbal pledge to Mel Tucker and company, and is now the 15th prospect to join MSU’s 2021 recruiting class.

Estime is listed as a 6-foot-2, 215-pound running back, per 247Sports. He received offers from 17 programs during the recruiting process, but picked Michigan State over Arizona State, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M, among others.

Estime has flashed his brilliance in a number of ways over the last two seasons on the high school field. At St. Joseph, he’s totaled 2,050 rushing yards, 119 receiving yards and 29 total touchdowns in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

From 247Sports’ recruiting analyst Brian Dohn:

Big body and muscular frame. Can easily play at 225 pounds once body matures. Strong and physical runner. Gets to hole quickly and accelerates through it. Downhill runner with cut-back ability. Good vision. Comfortable running between tackles. Does not go down easy on first contact. Falls forward.

Estime ranks as the No. 21 running back in the cycle and the No. 6 prospect out of the state of New Jersey, per 247Sports. Overall, Estime is listed as the No. 364 player in the 2021 class regardless of position.

With Estime’s pledge, Michigan State sees a boost in the national recruiting rankings. The Spartans are up to 54th in the country and 12th in the B1G.