SALT LAKE CITY – Utah’s Mitch Wishnowsky has become the first three-time finalist in the history of the Ray Guy Award, which honors the nation’s top collegiate punter. Wishnowsky, who won the award in his first NCAA season in 2016, was a finalist last year. The other two finalists are Braden Mann of Texas A&M and James Smith of Cincinnati.
The winner will be announced at the Home Depot College Football Awards in Atlanta on Thursday, Dec. 6. ESPN will televise the show live from the College Football Hall of Fame starting at 7 p.m. ET (5 p.m. MT).
Utah has won three of the past four Ray Guy Awards, with Tom Hackett winning from 2014-15 before Wishnowsky’s win in 2016. It is the first time that a school has had a finalist for the Ray Guy Award five straight seasons. Wishnowsky is Utah’s third Ray Guy Award finalist, joining Hackett and Louie Sakoda (2008).
Wishnowsky leads the Pac-12 and ranks sixth in the nation in punt average (45.9). He has led Utah to a No. 2 Pac-12 and No. 15 national ranking in net punting (40.49). Wishnowsky has placed 18 punts inside the 20-yard line, including nine punts at or inside the 10-yard line, as well as 17 punts of 50+ yards.
Wishnowsky was named the Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week on October 15 (his fourth career Pac-12 player of the week award) and was the Ray Guy Punter of the Week on Sept. 6.
A unanimous consensus All-American in 2016, Wishnowsky repeated as an All-American last year. He has a career 46.0 punt average, which ranks second among all active players. In his career, he has placed 68 punts inside the 20-yard line (42.5%) and has 59 punts of 50+ yards. Of his 160 career punts, he has just nine touchbacks.
