Max Honestly
 |
| No. 60 – Sarasota Sailfish | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker (formerly TE) |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | June 20, 2032 (aged 28) Gothenburg, Sweden |
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight: | 250 lb (113 kg) |
| Username: | Sizz |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Hvitfeldska |
| College: | Linköping University |
| ISFL Draft: | 2056 / Round: 1st / Pick: 8 |
| DSFL Draft: | 2055 / Round: 4 / Pick: 3 |
| Career history | |
| Roster status: | Active |
Max Honestly (born June 20, 2032) is an American football linebacker who is currently playing for the Sarasota Sailfish in the ISFL. He has previously played for the London Royals of the DSFL.
Early years
Max Honestly was born in Gothenburg, Sweden to Freja and Mick Honestly. His father is American and his mother is Swedish. He was introduced to American football at an early age due to his father's love of the game. He managed to garner enough interest in his hometown in the sport at a young age to get a small peewee team together. Unfortunately, there were no other teams in the vicinity so they were unable to play any games. He took that personally and at a young age vowed to create the first youth league in Sweden. He was later successful in this endeavor in creating a 4 team league at the youth level of 13-15 year olds and his team, the Gothenburg Hammers won the 2036 and 2037 championships. They narrowly lost the 2038 championship to the Malmö Falafels by a field goal in overtime. This left Max with a burning desire to achieve more as he had narrowly lost the championship in his final season in the newly started Sweden Youth Football League (SYFL).
College career
During the years leading up to his time at Linköping University, American football had become so popular that multiple universities banded together to create the Swedish University Football League (SUFL). He joined the team in his freshman year and was the backup tight end during the season. He registered 23 receptions and 3 touchdowns during his freshmen season. At the start of his sophomore season, he was designated the starting tight end and started all 15 games including both playoff games for the Linköping Lynx and totalled 72 receptions and 13 touchdowns. They lost narrowly in the championship to his hometown team, the Chalmers Cod. His junior year he was named co-captain of the team and recorded 84 receptions and 14 TDs during the season but due to a slew of injuries, the Lynx missed the playoffs. He was however named to the SUFL All-Swede team. He had originally planned to proclaim his plan to enter the DSFL draft after his junior season but his coach, Sven Svensson, was able to coerce him back for his senior year in hopes of a championship for the Lynx. His effort paid off and the Lynx went a staggering 12-1 during the regular season and 2-0 in the playoffs to win their first SUFL championship. Max had a league record 103 receptions during the season and a league high 15 TDs during that span. He added 3 TDs in the playoffs including 2 in the championship game.
College career statistics
| Career statistics | Receiving | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lg | TD | ||||
| 2051 | LiU | 13 | 23 | 241 | 10.4 | 37 | 3 | ||||
| 2052 | LiU | 15 | 72 | 677 | 9.4 | 52 | 13 | ||||
| 2053 | LiU | 13 | 84 | 748 | 8.9 | 45 | 14 | ||||
| 2054 | LiU | 15 | 116 | 1009 | 8.9 | 72 | 18 | ||||
| Total | 56 | 295 | 2675 | 9.4 | 72 | 48 | |||||
Professional career
Rookie Season (DSFL S40)
Max Honestly was drafted in the 4th round, pick 3 (27th overall) by the London Royals leading into season 40. He played played in 10 games for the Royals as their second tight end / fullback behind the Royals S40 third round pick, Nick Williams. After week 10, it was decided jointly by the coaching staff and Max that his talents could better be used elsewhere and he was moved into a versatile linebacking role alongside fellow S40 draftee, Loose Cannon. Cannon was able to show Max the ropes of the position in short time and in week 13, Honestly achieved the Royals Player of the Week award for his feats of 7 tackles, 1 Tackle for Loss and 1 Interception. Moving forward, Honestly has stated his intention to stay at linebacker as the position felt like a natural evolution in his game.
With the 8th pick in the S41 ISFL entry draft, Max Honestly was picked by the Sarasota Sailfish and has signed an entry level contract with them. At present, it seems the Sailfish are content with their linebacking core heading into season 41 and will allow the Royals to utilize Honestly's skills for the 41st season of DSFL football.
Second Season (DSFL S41)
In his second season with the Royals and first full season playing linebacker, Max was named captain of the team. He considered this a huge honor and set out to prove to his teammates that they had made the right choice in naming him captain.
At OLB, he led the defense by example and had a stellar season by all metrics. As the season wore on, it was apparent this was not only a great season for Max in his first full season at LB but a great season for any LB. He led the league in tackles and tackles for loss while also stacking up 11 sacks. Within the team, he was a 5 time Crown (Player of the Week) award winner. This put him squarely in the running not only for Defensive Player of the Year but also Most Valuable Player.
All in all, the Royals had a relatively successful season in which they made the playoffs but they ultimately fell to the Kansas City Coyotes in the playoffs; a team which they were unable to beat during the regular season in both matches.
Third Season (ISFL S42)
After playing in his second season in the DSFL(Season 41), Max was called up to the "big leagues". The Sarasota Sailfish decided Max's development throughout season 41 was enough to warrant a chance to shine in the ISFL. As the Sailfish already had a relatively deep Linebacking corps, especially at outside linebacker, Max was placed as the starting middle linebacker.
While he was still relatively green and unpolished, he provided a steady presence in the middle of the second line of defense for the Sailfish. His locker room presence, however, was enough to warrant him the honor of captain of the defense in his rookie season which he accepted with immense pride. On the field, Max had a relatively modest season in his own eyes in terms of tackles for loss and sacks combined with a very solid amount of tackles. Across the league though, he had a very good season compared to other inside linebackers and was awarded a spot on the pro bowl team for the NSFC.
Fourth Season (ISFL S43)
The flashes of brilliance Max showed during his rookie ISFL season as well as his effort put in during the offseason proved too much for the Sailfish management to ignore and Max was moved to OLB to begin the season. While things looked promising for Sarasota to begin the season after week 5 with a 4-1 record, a mid-season stretch of 6 games against Cape Town, Berlin, New York, Baltimore, Arizona and Austin proved too much to overcome. All of those opponents were in the top 3 in their respective conference and even though they made it through with a 2-4 record, it took it's toll on the team. The Sailfish had been through hell and back and they had trouble finishing the season strong enough to earn a playoff spot going 2-3 in that final stretch and ending the season in a tie in the standings with the Colorado Yeti and the Berlin Fire Salamanders, albeit losing the tiebreaker.
Individually however, after being put in a position that allowed him to showcase his talents, Max had a great sophomore season. He ended the season 5th in tackles in the league, tied for 3rd in tackles for loss and tied for first in forced fumbles. One highlight of the season was a game in which Max recorded 5 tackles for loss: a feat that had only been accomplished 4 times in the previous ten seasons. Another highlight of the season for Max was his week 5 game against the Chicago Butchers in which he recorded 9 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 passes defended and an interception.
Fifth Season (ISFL S44)
With a season of experience under his belt at outside linebacker, Max made himself into somewhat of a household name in his 3rd ISFL season. He was one of the top linebackers during the season and was one of the important cogs in Sarasota's defense which was a top half rushing defense and came in 6th in points allowed. On a team level, Max's play helped get the Sailfish back into the playoffs with some splash plays during important spots in some pivotal games. Unfortunately, they lost in the wild card round but getting back to the playoffs at all was an important stepping stone in their Ultimus aspirations.
On an individual level during the season, Max was one of the top linebackers in the league and ended the season tied for the highest number of tackles for loss (16) and was also tied for the highest number of interceptions for a linebacker (3). His sacks and tackles numbers were at an great level as well albeit slightly less than some of the more elite LBs of the ISFL. He even managed to score his first points with a safety in week 16.
Sixth Season (ISFL S45)
Coming off a playoff berth and wildcard round loss in season 44, Max set the lofty goal to help the Sailfish claim one of the top spots in the NSFC in season 45. The Sailfish started the season 3-0 and were 4-1 after their first 5 games. At the halfway point of the season, they were 6-2 which put them tied for first in the NSFC with the Colorado Yeti who few had expected to be in that spot. The top two teams (BAL and CTC) from the previous season started out slow and it was shaping up to be a change of the guard in the NSFC for season 45. As the season progressed, Colorado was able to retain their top spot but SAR was right there with them. With three games to go, the Sailfish were 9-4 and sitting in first place in the NSFC but a three game skid to end the season left them in a three way tie for second place. Due to head to head matchup tiebreakers, they ended up once again in unwanted but familiar territory with a wildcard berth for the playoffs. The Sailfish showed their gritty nature during the playoffs and won two road games in the NSFC WC and NSFC Championship game and found themselves one win away from an Ultimus. Fate was not on their side however as they lost in overtime to the Austin Copperheads. The Sailfish vowed to keep their focus and use this heartbreaking loss as motivation for season 46.
On a more individual level for Max, He proved once again to be one of the top linebackers in the league leading the league in tackles for loss (16). His sacks were at a somewhat average level compared to the other elite outside linebackers in the league and tackles were near the top of the league. Overall, his performance for the season was enough to give him a spot on the pro-bowl roster for S45. With a few seasons left in his prime, Max aims to cement himself as one of the league's best linebackers in ISFL history.
Professional career statistics
Playing as a Tight End during S40
| Career statistics | Receiving | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Rec | Yards | Avg | Lg | TD |
| 2055 (S40) | Royals | 10 | 32 | 236 | 7.4 | 36 | 01 |
After making the switch to Linebacker during S40
| Career statistics | Defense | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Tck | TFL | FF/FR | Sck | Int | PD | Sfty | TD | Blk P/XP/FG |
| 2055 (S40) | Royals | 4 | 22 | 1 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 |
| 2056 (S41) | Royals | 14 | 126 | 18 | 2/0 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 |
| 2057 (S42) | Sailfish | 16 | 91 | 4 | 3/0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 |
| 2058 (S43) | Sailfish | 16 | 125 | 13 | 6/0 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 |
| 2059 (S44) | Sailfish | 16 | 124 | 16 | 3/1 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0/0/0 |
| 2060 (S45) | Sailfish | 16 | 125 | 16 | 4/5 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 |
