Benedictine’s Layne runs 4.5 40 at Combine

Asked March 3 what he wanted to prove at the NFL Scouting Combine, Benedictine graduate Justin Layne’s response was quick and to the point:

“That I’m fast. That’s it,” he said.

When asked what his goal was in the 40-yard dash, Layne said, “Fast.”

The Michigan State Spartan wasn’t blazing on March 4 in Indianapolis, but he did well enough with a time of 4.50 seconds in the 40. It should elevate him as one of the top cornerback prospects in this year’s NFL Draft — if he wasn’t there already.

Layne is an interesting draft prospect. He arrived in East Lansing from high school as a 6-foot-2 wide receiver but was eventually switched to cornerback, where he became one of the Big Ten’s best.

NFL cornerbacks typically don’t arrive from college at 6-2, and teams have told Layne they like his size at 195. At the Combine, they said his speed was the main focus, and Layne delivered to the masses.

“That’s why I’m here, to try to prove them wrong,” Layne told ClevelandBrowns.com. “To try to convince them that I should be in the first round or be in that conversation.”

His first game with the Spartans was at receiver but when he was a sophomore Layne was a fulltime cornerback. However in 2018, he did spend some time at receiver when injuries cut Michigan State’s depth at the position. Layne’s future in the NFL is at cornerback.

“I’ve talked to a lot of teams,” Layne told the Detroit News in Indianapolis. “(They say) I’ve got good size, good upside, I use my length to my advantage and they just want to see how fast I am.”

Layne declared for the draft with one year of eligibility remaining, and decided to skip the Spartans’ bowl game against Oregon. As a junior in 2018, he broke up 15 passes and was named second-team All-Big Ten. In his first career start at cornerback in 2016, he intercepted a pass vs. Northwestern and took it 43 yards for a touchdown.