BROADWAY — After having a Tuesday morning meeting with James Madison offensive coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick, it was a little difficult for Broadway senior Jesse Layne to stay focused during the school day.
“It was on my mind the rest of the day,” Layne said.
Kirkpatrick offered an opportunity the BHS quarterback’s wanted for quite a while — a preferred walk-on invitation to join Madison’s program, according to Layne.
Layne announced Thursday morning via Twitter he’ll be continuing his education and football career at JMU, which earlier this month won its second national championship in program history.
“It feels really great. I’m excited as ever, so it’s a great feeling,” Layne said Thursday afternoon, sporting a gray Madison long-sleeve shirt. “I’m going to have to work really hard, obviously. I’m not going to play my first year, obviously, but I think I can work my way up and eventually get some playing time. That’s my plan.”
The 6-foot-4, 208-pound Layne said he chose the Dukes over a walk-on invitation to VMI and a scholarship offer from Glenville State, and he had also drawn interest from Richmond, Shenandoah and Randolph-Macon.
“It’s obviously an exciting feeling for me as a coach just because I know the hard work that’s gone into it for him,” Gobblers coach Brad Lutz said. “The things and sacrifices he’s made and the work he’s put into it, not only in the weight room and on the field but in the classroom, all those things paid off this morning.”
Layne said he called Kirkpatrick, who is also the Dukes’ quarterbacks coach, on Thursday morning to inform him of his decision, which the quarterback made Wednesday night with his mother.
Layne will be the fourth Gobbler under Lutz to go Division I via the walk-on route. Linebacker Josh Eberly played at Virginia Tech from 2012-15, and fellow 2012 Broadway graduate Gabe Kreider, a defensive end at BHS, was a longsnapper at Madison in 2012.
Adam Caplinger, a 2010 BHS grad who was Lutz’s first starting quarterback at Broadway in 2009, was converted to linebacker for his career at the University of Virginia from 2010-13.
Although Layne will begin his James Madison career as a quarterback and aims to stay at the position, there remains a possibility he relocates to wide receiver or tight end.
Layne, who was previously a receiver before becoming Broadway’s quarterback, said Kirkpatrick likes the senior’s versatility, and Lutz said other colleges projected Layne as a tight end. Whichever position Layne settles into, though, Lutz said he’ll “absolutely” fit Madison’s offense, which Layne said is similar to the Gobblers’.
“He’s a smart kid. He’s talented. He’s physical. He’s got the athletic ability,” Lutz said. “When you add all those things up, he’s a football player, and I think he’s a kid that is a team-first player. He’s been like that ever since he’s been young, and he’s going to do what the team asks him.”
When the Dukes reeled in a Rockingham County quarterback in last year’s recruiting class — Zach Polglase, a three-year starter at QB for Spotswood who took a walk-on invitation to JMU — they converted him to tight end. Devin Medley, a freshman linebacker and former Harrisonburg standout, is the only other city/county product on Madison’s roster.
Layne is slated to join a group of JMU quarterbacks that is expected to include returning starter Bryan Schor, the Colonial Athletic Association’s Offensive Player of the Year, and South Carolina transfer Connor Mitch.
“I think that’ll be some great guys to look up to,” Layne said.
Layne also hopes to take after the Madison upperclassmen that began their careers as walk-ons.
“They worked hard and got on the field and got some playing time and eventually earned scholarships,” Layne said. “[Kirkpatrick] said he thinks I can be a guy like that. Just gotta continue working hard.”
Layne said he was aware of only one scholarship quarterback in JMU’s upcoming recruiting class— Rock Hill, S.C., native Gage Moloney.
When the Broadway senior tweeted his announcement Thursday, his post featured a graphic illustration that included a picture of himself and “JMU Breed.” Layne’s brother, Zach Lantz, is a graduate student at Madison and a video coordinator who created the illustration, the BHS senior said.
Layne — who’s averaging 8.5 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds for the BHS basketball team this winter — in the fall was a second-team All-Valley District selection and All-Conference 29 honorable mention at quarterback.
The signal-caller went 3-2 as the Gobblers’ starter in 2015 while filling in for the injured Kirk Rygol — who later moved to South Carolina — before battling through a 1-9 season at BHS this past fall.
Behind a young offensive line in 2016, Layne completed 128-of-237 passes (54 percent) for 1,428 yards, 10 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. He also ran the ball 65 times for 313 yards, an average of nearly 5 yards per carry, and had four rushing scores.
Broadway junior David Osorio, a wide receiver and defensive back, recalled a day on the junior-varsity team when Layne proclaimed to him that he’d one day play at JMU.
“That’s crazy that he’s fulfilling his dreams and I’m really proud of him,” Osorio said. “It’s cool seeing one of my best friends commit to the college that they always wanted to go to.”
