- DIVISION II -

Preseason Watch List: Mars Hill LB Landon Honeycutt

Senior coming off an MVP season in the South Atlantic Conference

Published

August 5, 2023

Mars Hill linebacker Landon Honeycutt preseason

Landon Honeycutt is the reigning SAC Mountain Division Defensive Player of the Year. He finished with 90 tackles a year ago. (Photos courtesy Mars Hill Athletics).

#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.