Mitch Wishnowsky Reveals He Played The Pac-12 Championship Game With Appendicitis

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Former Utah punter Mitch Wishnowsky played for the Utes for three seasons during 2016-19. While at Utah he won the Ray Guy Award, awarded to the nations best collegiate punter, in 2016 and was a three time All American.

He is currently preparing for the NFL Combine which is scheduled for April 25-27. If Wishnowsky ends up being drafted, he will become only the third Utah football punter and the first since 1979 to be drafted into the NFL.

During Tuesday’s episode of Special Forces Gang, Wishnowsky joined Tom Hackett and Andy Phillips and revealed that he played in the Pac-12 Championship game against Washington with appendicitis.

According to WebMD, “appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix, a 3 1/2-inch-long tube of tissue that extends from the large intestine. It is a medical emergency that almost always requires prompt surgery to remove the appendix. Left untreated, an inflamed appendix will eventually burst, or perforate, spilling infectious materials into the abdominal cavity.”

Pain Increased

Days before the Pac-12 Championship game, Wishnowsky complained of pain in the lower right abdomen region to the Utah football training staff. Coincidentally, running back TJ Green was also complaining of similar pain and the training staff figured it was probably just gas buildup and it was not anything worth worrying about.

Wishnowsky’s pain continued to increase as the days started ticking down towards the big game. Still, Utah’s training staff seemed adamant that the pain was nothing more than excess gas.

Appendix Removed

It was not until the day after the game in which Wishnowsky realized something was wrong, he called into the Utah training room and requested a visit to the University of Utah Hospital with a team doctor. After a few quick tests, the doctor told Wishnowsky that he had appendicitis and that he must go into surgery immediately.

Wishnowsky made a full recovery and was able to punt in his final collegiate football game, the Holiday Bowl on December 31, 2018.

218 pounds + 6’2” + prodigious leg = fake punts coming your way. Mitch Wishnowsky laying down a 40 in the WR-RB range pic.twitter.com/c0X3hQ6KSd

— Laurie Horesh (@LaurieHoresh) March 1, 2019

Since then, Wishnowsky has taken part in the Reece’s Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine and on Thursday he will punt in front of more NFL scouts and coaches during Utah football’s Pro Day.

@PatMcAfeeShow Mitch Wishnowsky with a monster punt for 54 yards, For The Brand! pic.twitter.com/zqhYc4QyIF

— Duane Lively (@DuaneLively) January 26, 2019

To listen to the full episode of Special Forces Gang with Mitch Wishnowsky, click here.