Ray Guy Award watch list 2017: 5 favorites to win
By John Buhler
Mitch Wishnowsky
Punter, Utah Utes
Mitch Wishnowsky won the 2016 Ray Guy Award as a sophomore for the Utah Utes. He was the third straight recipient of the award in Salt Lake City. His predecessor Tom Hackett had won back-to-back Ray Guy Awards in 2014 and 2015, becoming the second two-time winner of the award.
Wishnowsky stands the chance of winning the Ray Guy Award again in 2017. Utah usually leans on its defense to win ball games in the Pac-12 South. The Utes came up a bit short of winning the division, fading in the final weeks to Rocky Mountain Rumble rival Colorado Buffaloes.
The voters of the Ray Guy Award already know who Wishnowsky is and the type of special teams excellence that comes out of Kyle Whittingham’s Utah football program. Hackett was tremendous before Wishnowksy and kicker Andy Phillips was known around college football as Automatic Andy. The dude didn’t miss field goals.
There are two reasons Wishnowsky isn’t the runaway favorite to repeat as the award winner. One could cite the voting committee having Utah fatigue. It might want to recognize somebody that doesn’t play for the Utes. The other thing to keep an eye on is that Utah may not be a top-25 this year. Not to say Utah will be bad, but not sure how the Utes got better from last season.