Upcoming Event: Football versus Idaho on September 3, 2026
Football
vs Idaho
.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
The University of Utah Athletics
Mitch Wishnowsky: Booming His Way To The Top
9/21/2018 7:51 AM | Football
By Nick Gruet
Utah Athletics Communications
Â
While growing up in Perth, Australia, Mitch Wishnowsky never dreamt about coming to America and playing college football. In fact, as someone who participated in soccer, track and Australian rules football as a youngster, making a move to the United States wasn't something he even thought about until he reached the age of 18.
Wishnowsky's parents, Marty and Penny, raised him in a home filled with hard work and determination.
"Both my mom and my dad introduced me to sports," Wishnowsky said. "My dad worked hard and was often at work while my mom was always the 'soccer mom' driving me around to soccer and track pretty much every day. So, my mom made lots of sacrifices for me to play when I was a kid."
As Wishnowsky grew older, he turned to playing Australian rules football. Similar to rugby, Aussie rules is a fast-paced,contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval-shaped field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by kicking an oval-shaped ball between the goal posts (worth six points) or behind posts (worth one point).
Developing real skill and talent for "footy," Wishnowsky had to make a tough decision and step away from the sport at the age of 18 after repeatedly injuring his left shoulder. At that time, Wishnowsky's friends invited him to play in a recreational flag football league. Not knowing much about American football, Wishnowsky took what he learned from watching a few movies and got a lot of help from his buddies.Â
"From playing flag football, I met a bloke who knew Nathan Chapman and John Smith from Prokick Australia, and that's when I first got the idea that I could potentially be a punter," Wishnowsky explained.
Chapman, who played professionally for eight seasons in the Australian Football League and signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers in 2004, is the head punting coach at Prokick Australia. The companywas developed in 2007 to help guide and transition Australian athletes to perform at the American college and NFL level. Wishnowsky credits Chapman for being the biggest influence in his skill development and is thankful for the support he provided.
"When I first started, I had to move from one side of Australia to the other so that I could train in Mebourne,"Â Wishnowsky recalled. "At that stage of the program, not too many people had done it and Chapman really took me under his wing. I didn't have much money and sort of struggled for the year that I was there, but he really looked after me."
Once Wishnowsky believed he was ready to play football in the states, he collaborated with Chapman to make a recruiting video that they sent to several college coaches, mainly in the Pac-12. However, they didn't receive a tremendous response. At that point, Wishnowsky still had to complete his associate's degree before he would be eligible to play for an NCAA Division I school, and that caused most coaches to lose interest. When he was starting to lose hope, Wishnowsky received a phone call from Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham.Â
"Coach Whittingham called me and pretty much offered me a scholarship," Wishnowsky said. "He told me that I needed to go to junior college, get everything done, and once that happened there would be a scholarship waiting for me. It was just the faith he showed in me that led me to come to Utah."
Wishnowsky moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., where he played one year for Santa Barbara Community College. It was a big move for Wishnowsky, but the transition from Aussie football to American football wasn't too bad for him in the beginning.
"Back home you can take like 20 steps before you kick the ball," Wishnowsky pointed out. "Even before I got to junior college, I was doing a lot of breaking down with my technique. So once I got to junior college, they pretty much just told me to kick it big and far."
The real challenge for Wishnowsky came when he made the move from Santa Barbara Community College to Utah. There is a big leap in competition and strategy from the junior college level to Pac-12 football, and Wishnowksy learned that first hand.
"Here at Utah, it is broken down to launch points, hang time, distance and zones. It just gets more difficult as it gets more in depth, the opposition gets harder and the returners get more threatening," Wishnowsky said.
Progressing nicely in his development, Wishnowsky has become one of the top punters in the country. He is a two-time All-American, a two-time Ray Guy Award finalist, and the 2016 Ray Guy Award winner. As a Ute rookie when he claimed the Ray Guy Award, Wishnowsky led the nation in net punting at 44.63 yards per punt and set a school single-season record with 30 punts of 50 yards or more.
Stepping into the big leagues and making a splash right away, Wishnowsky is still very determined to perfect his craft and achieve his ultimate goal of playing at the top level of football.
"You can get as many awards as you want, but the ultimate goal is the NFL. Anyone that wins awards in college can't get ahead of themselves. I mean, you are definitely not the best in the nation. There are tons of guys in the NFL that are better, and for you to make the NFL you have got to get better," Wishnowsky explained.
As for his team goals this year, Wishnowsky would love for Utah to win the Pac-12 title. Wishnowsky believes that the Utes have a phenomenal team this year with many returners that are ready and determined to make a Pac-12 title run.Â
Personally, Wishnowsky just wants to punt the ball as well as he knows he can, show versatility and show that he has an NFL-caliber leg.
Wishnowsky, who is a kinesiology and physical education teaching major, is scheduled to receive his bachelor's degree in December 2018.
Â
Utah Athletics Communications
Â
While growing up in Perth, Australia, Mitch Wishnowsky never dreamt about coming to America and playing college football. In fact, as someone who participated in soccer, track and Australian rules football as a youngster, making a move to the United States wasn't something he even thought about until he reached the age of 18.
Wishnowsky's parents, Marty and Penny, raised him in a home filled with hard work and determination.
"Both my mom and my dad introduced me to sports," Wishnowsky said. "My dad worked hard and was often at work while my mom was always the 'soccer mom' driving me around to soccer and track pretty much every day. So, my mom made lots of sacrifices for me to play when I was a kid."
As Wishnowsky grew older, he turned to playing Australian rules football. Similar to rugby, Aussie rules is a fast-paced,contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval-shaped field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by kicking an oval-shaped ball between the goal posts (worth six points) or behind posts (worth one point).
Developing real skill and talent for "footy," Wishnowsky had to make a tough decision and step away from the sport at the age of 18 after repeatedly injuring his left shoulder. At that time, Wishnowsky's friends invited him to play in a recreational flag football league. Not knowing much about American football, Wishnowsky took what he learned from watching a few movies and got a lot of help from his buddies.Â
"From playing flag football, I met a bloke who knew Nathan Chapman and John Smith from Prokick Australia, and that's when I first got the idea that I could potentially be a punter," Wishnowsky explained.
Chapman, who played professionally for eight seasons in the Australian Football League and signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers in 2004, is the head punting coach at Prokick Australia. The companywas developed in 2007 to help guide and transition Australian athletes to perform at the American college and NFL level. Wishnowsky credits Chapman for being the biggest influence in his skill development and is thankful for the support he provided.
"When I first started, I had to move from one side of Australia to the other so that I could train in Mebourne,"Â Wishnowsky recalled. "At that stage of the program, not too many people had done it and Chapman really took me under his wing. I didn't have much money and sort of struggled for the year that I was there, but he really looked after me."
Once Wishnowsky believed he was ready to play football in the states, he collaborated with Chapman to make a recruiting video that they sent to several college coaches, mainly in the Pac-12. However, they didn't receive a tremendous response. At that point, Wishnowsky still had to complete his associate's degree before he would be eligible to play for an NCAA Division I school, and that caused most coaches to lose interest. When he was starting to lose hope, Wishnowsky received a phone call from Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham.Â
"Coach Whittingham called me and pretty much offered me a scholarship," Wishnowsky said. "He told me that I needed to go to junior college, get everything done, and once that happened there would be a scholarship waiting for me. It was just the faith he showed in me that led me to come to Utah."
Wishnowsky moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., where he played one year for Santa Barbara Community College. It was a big move for Wishnowsky, but the transition from Aussie football to American football wasn't too bad for him in the beginning.
"Back home you can take like 20 steps before you kick the ball," Wishnowsky pointed out. "Even before I got to junior college, I was doing a lot of breaking down with my technique. So once I got to junior college, they pretty much just told me to kick it big and far."
The real challenge for Wishnowsky came when he made the move from Santa Barbara Community College to Utah. There is a big leap in competition and strategy from the junior college level to Pac-12 football, and Wishnowksy learned that first hand.
"Here at Utah, it is broken down to launch points, hang time, distance and zones. It just gets more difficult as it gets more in depth, the opposition gets harder and the returners get more threatening," Wishnowsky said.
Progressing nicely in his development, Wishnowsky has become one of the top punters in the country. He is a two-time All-American, a two-time Ray Guy Award finalist, and the 2016 Ray Guy Award winner. As a Ute rookie when he claimed the Ray Guy Award, Wishnowsky led the nation in net punting at 44.63 yards per punt and set a school single-season record with 30 punts of 50 yards or more.
Stepping into the big leagues and making a splash right away, Wishnowsky is still very determined to perfect his craft and achieve his ultimate goal of playing at the top level of football.
"You can get as many awards as you want, but the ultimate goal is the NFL. Anyone that wins awards in college can't get ahead of themselves. I mean, you are definitely not the best in the nation. There are tons of guys in the NFL that are better, and for you to make the NFL you have got to get better," Wishnowsky explained.
As for his team goals this year, Wishnowsky would love for Utah to win the Pac-12 title. Wishnowsky believes that the Utes have a phenomenal team this year with many returners that are ready and determined to make a Pac-12 title run.Â
Personally, Wishnowsky just wants to punt the ball as well as he knows he can, show versatility and show that he has an NFL-caliber leg.
Wishnowsky, who is a kinesiology and physical education teaching major, is scheduled to receive his bachelor's degree in December 2018.
Â
Players Mentioned
P
/ FootballCrimson Corner with Bill Riley - College football analyst Yogi Roth
Wednesday, May 06
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Utah Football Head Coach Morgan Scalley
Wednesday, April 29
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Utah Football legend Brian Johnson
Friday, February 20
Utah Football Head Coach Morgan Scalley Introductory Press Conference | 1.06.25
Tuesday, January 06