Glendale Raptors Sign Jonathan Layne

Glendale Raptors signed BYU graduate Jonathan Layne for the 2019 Major League Rugby season. The 24-years-old lock/flanker is 6’5″ and 240 lbs.

Jonny is from Conifer, Colorado and lives in Denver. He attended Conifer High School his Sophomore and Junior years and played football, as well as rugby for PAC Rugby.

He then moved to Nashville, Tennessee and attended Ravenswood High School his Senior year, graduating in 2012. He was the captain of the State Championship rugby team and played football at linebacker and defensive end.

Jonny attended BYU from 2013-2018, helping the team win a National Championship in 2013. He then took a 2-year leave from BYU in 2014-15 to do an LDS mission trip along the Texas/Mexico border, volunteering in rural clinics and hospitals, as well as proselytizing for the Mormon church. Currently, he is no longer associated with the Church.

Following the mission, he returned to BYU to complete his Bachelor’s Degree. The rugby team was National runner-ups to Cal in 2016. In his last season at BYU (2017-2018), he was the team captain.

Since his graduation, he was accepted to the University of Colorado School of Medicine and is in his first year at the Anschutz Campus.

Jonny also played with the Collegiate All-Americans in Summer 2018 and the Glendale Raptors during the 2018 exhibition season. His performance with the Raptors led to his continuation with the team in 2019.

Jonny also gives back to rugby by serving as an Assistant Coach with PAC Rugby, alongside his first rugby coach Hugh Miller. PAC Rugby is a combo high school rugby team consisting of athletes from Platte Canyon High School, Conifer High School, and now Evergreen High School and covers all small mountain town schools west of Denver. These towns are about 8,000 feet above sea level.

When not playing rugby, he is an outdoor enthusiast, as well as a singer and songwriter.