Mitch Wishnowsky To Debut In Super Bowl LIV As A Rookie
Jan 31, 2020, 4:51 PM
Punter Mitch Wishnowsky #6 of the San Francisco 49ers looks on during the preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Levi's Stadium on August 29, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – One of my best mates are preparing to play in Super Bowl LIV, and he is a rookie. Mitch Wishnowsky will punt against the Andy Reid led Kansas City Chiefs in what is certainly the biggest game of Wishnowsky’s career.
Mitch “Boomin Onion” Wishnowsky, as he is called by his fellow 49ers teammates, has had an interesting journey leading up the Super Bowl LIV. Hailing from Perth, Australia, Wishnowksy’s football career began following a conversation with an American professor in Perth after watching Wishnowsky kick an American Football at a local park. Fast forward a year of training with ProKick Australia in Melbourne and Wishnowky found himself punting for the University of Utah where he would have great success, as many Utah fans remember.
Wishnowsky has thrived in his first year as an NFL player. His 41.6 net yard average is good enough to rank 18th out of a possible 32 punters. 18th for most people reading this article may not sound like much, or as if Wishnowsky has had a great year, however, punting in the challenging elements of Levis Stadium in the Bay Area is no easy feat. Wind, rain and punting at sea level all combine to make kicking the pigskin a challenge in the outskirts of San Fransisco.
Mitch Wishnowsky appreciation Tweet
🎥: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/XNK17bgKp6
— Alex Tran (@NinerAlex) September 16, 2019
I caught up with Wishnowsky earlier this week to gauge his emotions prior to the big dance, he was calm. Although that is sure to change over time. Unlike myself, Wishnowsky switches his focus roughly an hour before any game he has played in. It is one of the many differences between what I used to do, and what he currently does. Maybe also a pretty good indication as to why I sit at my desk in Salt Lake City, and he punts for the San Fransisco 49ers.
“Hopefully you barely hear my name and that it is a boring game for me,” he told me on the phone.
As a punter your job is unique. Despite being one of the most influential positions on the field, a punter will rarely be talked about as someone who won a game for its team. However, punters can, rather easily, be blamed for losing games. Wishnowsky is well aware of that.
Punters will often punt to the opposing team’s most dangerous player, a scary thought. That thought becomes scarier when you realize that Wishnowsky will be punting to the most dangerous player in the NFL, Tyreek Hill.
Hill is the fastest and most elusive player in the NFL, his speed is electrifying and his ability to find the endzone when the ball is in his arms is remarkable. No other player in the leagues possesses the explosive offensive ability like Hill.
Jaguars Cornerback A.J. Bouye says he wishes he was as fast as Tyreek Hill.
Video via: @thecheckdown pic.twitter.com/FhMFKDxKNy
— Jamal St. Cyr (@JStCyrTV) January 30, 2020
Regardless, Wishnowsky is eager to get going and soak in everything that the Super Bowl encompasses.
Come Sunday, if you need me, you will be able to find me on the couch, not listening or watching anything but the game and feeling every emotion Wishnowsky will from 2,500 miles away.
Go get’em you big, Thor looking mammoth of a human.
