#35 Landon Honeycutt, linebacker
School: Mars Hill Lions
Class: Senior
Measurables: 6-2/225 pounds
Hometown: Mount Pleasant, NC
High School: Mount Pleasant HS
Notes: One of the key defensive pieces on a Mars Hill team that won the South Atlantic Conference’s Mountain Division and finished 7-3 overall a year ago … One of the top tacklers in Division II football, finishing with 90 total hits (40 solo), averaging nine tackles per game … Also had 15 tackles-for-loss, five sacks and forced a fumble in 2022 …
Led all players with 14 tackles in a heart-breaking SAC championship game loss to Newberry in November … Voted the SAC’s Mountain Division Defensive Player of the Year for ’22. Also earned a spot on the Division II Conference Coaches Association first-team All-Region list …
Among the leading vote-getters in SAC preseason all-conference balloting for this season, joining seven Mars Hill teammates on the All-Mountain Division team.
Featured in an interview this past May on NFLDiamonds.com as a 2024 NFL Draft Prospect (read the interview HERE) … Compared himself to former Carolina Panthers linebacking great Luke Kuechly.
“Obviously we’ve all seen how dominant he was and how unreal his ability was to call out plays before they even happen,” Honeycutt said in the interview. “I personally do the same thing, while watching film I look for little keys the OL gives off, what formation they like to run in certain situations, the different statistics for different down and distances, and any plays/players teams like to lean on” …
Played linebacker and running back in high school at Mount Pleasant High on a field named after his late grandfather – Larry Honeycutt Field at Tiger Stadium. Larry Honeycutt also is a Mars Hill football alum …
Landon Honeycutt and the Lions open the 2023 season Thursday, Sept. 7 at home against SAC rival Wingate … Other Mars Hill players named to the SAC All-Mountain preseason team included wide receiver Malik Laurent, offensive linemen Leondre Andreas and Justin Bullock, defensive linemen Boris Lewis and Damipi Lamboni, and defensive backs Monroe Sanderson and Tristan Rankin.
—> Read More: Wingate picked second, Lenoir-Rhyne third in preseason SAC poll
More Preseason Watch List Headlines From NC Football News:
- WCU Football Picked 4th In Conference Race, 3 Catamounts Make All-Conference
Western Carolina will start the season looking up at Mercer, Tennessee Tech and ETSU in the eyes of league coaches - Duke Football Preview 2026: Can the ACC Champions Prove They’re Here to Stay?
Blue Devils picked toward the back of the ACC but they’ve excelled from this position before - NCCU Picked Second in MEAC; Chance Peterson Earns Preseason Player of the Year Honors
Eagles have had MEAC post-season offensive player of the year winner in three of the last four years - East Carolina Football Preview 2026: Can the Pirates Contend in the American?
The Pirates lost 21 starters from a nine-win team … and it might not matter - 11 North Carolina teams land in High School Football America’s preseason Top 300
Reigning state champions Hough, Providence Day and Grimsley ranked among Top 50
