Salesi Moa dedicated to play for Kyle Whittingham at Utah six weeks in the past after a prolonged recruiting battle. He dedicated to Whittingham once more Friday evening, this time to play for Michigan.
“The pinnacle coach over there and the huge receiver coach, and likewise the D-line coach, my uncle, coach Lewis (Powell), all of them recruited me from Utah,” Moa mentioned on the NFL Community broadcast. “Once they went over to Michigan, I simply wished to go there with them.”
Moa, a top-50 prospect within the class of 2026, introduced his dedication in the course of the Polynesian Bowl, a highschool all-star recreation in Honolulu, Hawaii. Moa signed with Utah in December however entered the switch portal a month later after Whittingham stepped down as Utah’s coach and accepted the job at Michigan.
Moa was the No. 1 participant in Utah and the No. 45 participant within the 247Sports Composite rankings. He was one in every of Michigan’s prime targets within the 2026 class and visited Ann Arbor a number of occasions, together with a visit for the Ohio State recreation in November. Moa was dedicated to Tennessee on the time however flipped to Utah in December.
Moa is a two-way participant who might play huge receiver or defensive again in faculty. Michigan’s earlier workers recruited him to play within the secondary, although he’s additionally able to contributing offensively. Moa, listed at 6-feet-1 and 190 kilos, caught 63 passes for 1,272 yards as a senior at Fremont Excessive College in Ogden, Utah.
Moa has ties to Utah and Willingham. Salesi’s father, Ben, performed tight finish at Utah from 2002 to 2003 below City Meyer. Whittingham, then an assistant coach, changed Meyer the subsequent season and spent 21 seasons as head coach earlier than stepping down on Dec 12. Salesi’s older brother, Aisea, is a linebacker who just lately entered the switch portal and can also be projected to land at Michigan. He started his profession at BYU and spent final season at Michigan State.
Salesi Moa is the fifth participant to depart Utah for Michigan since Whittingham arrived. In a since-deleted social media submit, Utah athletic director Mark Harlan quoted a submit about Moa’s announcement and added, “Properly, he was with us at school for a (final)week. Public announcement … seen all of it now (most likely not).”
Utah transfers who’ve signed with Michigan embody edge rusher John Henry Daley, huge receiver JJ Buchanan, cornerback Smith Snowden and defensive deal with Jonah Lea’ea. Whittingham additionally introduced a number of members of the Utah teaching workers to Michigan, together with offensive coordinator Jason Beck, offensive line coach Jim Harding, huge receivers coach Micah Simon, defensive ends coach Powell and energy coach Doug Elisaia.
Now Whittingham has one of many prime prospects in Utah’s 2026 recruiting class, too.
