Elite athlete Salesi Moa enrolls at Utah despite late Michigan push

Ogden (Utah) Fremont four-star athlete Salesi Moa flipped his commitment from Tennessee to Utah on National Signing Day and signed with the Utes.

Once longtime Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham left the program, however, others circled back on the two-way star. Tennessee never let up, but Michigan, the program now led by Whittingham, was charging to get the Beehive State star up to Ann Arbor and out of his signature with the in-state program.

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On Monday evening, KSLSports’ Steve Bartle reported that Moa has enrolled at Utah and is on campus in Salt Lake City.

Utah’s push to fully land Moa drifted into the new year, but the Big 12 program is bringing an instant playmaker to its locker room. New head coach Morgan Scalley provides an easy transition from Whittingham for the Utah class.

Whittingham is bringing some Utah assistants with him to U-M, including receivers coach Micah Simon. When speaking with The Wolverine’s EJ Holland ahead of last weekend’s Under Armour All-America Game, Moa acknowledged that he was waiting to see how both coaching staffs shook out.

“I have to see what the coaches are doing,” Moa said. “I have to go off of that for sure. If the Utah staff were to go over (to Michigan), it would probably lead me over there a little bit.”

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Michigan originally recruited Moa as a defensive back, but he has his sights set on playing receiver at the next level. Moa ranks as the No. 54 overall prospect and No. 2 athlete in the 2026 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all major recruiting media companies.

Once news broke on Dec. 12 that Whittingham was stepping down from his post at Utah, Moa’s father, Ben, maintained that the in-state program would still be a great landing spot for his son. The departure of Whittingham was far from unexpected in the first place.

“It will be great for Salesi either way because everything that coach Whitt stands for and is about, Morgan Scalley stands for and that’s been the case for years,” the elder Moa said. “Coach Whitt kind of hinted at that when we met with him but were still locked in with Utah and excited about the future.”

Moa is one half of an elite tandem atop Utah’s 2026 class. The Utes landed an early pledge from Rivals five-star offensive tackle Kelvin Obot and had no issues acquiring his signature last month. He’s the No. 3 overall prospect in the Rivals300.