One of the highlights of the 49ers 24-15 preseason win in Denver was fourth-round pick Mitch Wishnowsky’s tackle of the player returning his own kickoff.
In the middle of the third quarter, 6-foot-2, 220-pound Wishnowsky drilled the ball four yards deep into the end zone but Broncos 5-foot-7, 170 pounds running back Devontae Jackson still thought it was a good idea to bring it out.
Right at about the 24-yard line the punter made contact with Jackson and drove him into the ground a few yards back.
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Video of the hit has since gone viral and it will likely be a while before Jackson lives that play down.
After the game, Wishnowsky said the tackle wasn’t too reminiscent of his Australian football days but still enjoyable.
“You don’t really get too many head on,” Wishnowsky said. “It’s a lot of sort of wrap-up tackles, but yeah, it was nice to get one.”
Wishnowsky also explained why he was so far down the field on the play.
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“I hang back and then if there’s a gap to fill, I’ll just run in there,” Wishnowsky said. “Sort of half expecting him to sort of out step me but he didn’t so it worked out.”
Via conference call, coach Kyle Shanahan shared that he wasn’t surprised of Wishnowsky’s ability, but he also doesn’t want to see that on a regular basis. Shanahan, however, was very complimentary of his punter’s technique.
[RELATED: Wishnowsky's Madden rating increases after hit]
“I was not shocked at all,” Shanahan said. “That’s what rugby players do. I don’t know if we want to make a living out of doing that but it’s good for the other 10 guys to see if they’re not on it, he might get down there and take their stats away.
“I was very impressed with it. It was a perfect form leverage-side tackle.”