The Utah Utes just lost Salesi Moa, one of their stars of the 2026 recruiting class. Moa is ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the state of Utah and the No. 45 overall player in the country by 247Sports’ composite rankings.
The four-star wide receiver prospect is now hitting the transfer portal ahead of his freshman season, according to a report by 247Sports’ Blair Angulo.
Moa, who changed his commitment from Tennessee to Utah in the early signing period, enrolled at the University of Utah earlier in January prior to entering his name into the transfer portal this week.
According CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer, he has a “do not contact” designation in the transfer portal, which “typically signifies a player knows where he’ll transfer to upon entry.”
Salesi Moa Heading to Michigan?
Michigan is considered the favorite to land Moa, as he would be following Kyle Whittingham, who is now the head coach of the Wolverines. It is also a school that Moa took a visit to during his high school recruitment.
As a senior, Moa had 63 receptions for 1,272 yards and 16 touchdowns, while also finishing with 57 tackles, three interceptions and five pass deflections.
Along with Kelvin Obot, Moa was considered the top recruit of Utah’s 2026 recruiting class. Moa becomes the first commitment from the 2026 class to announce he’s leaving before he even plays a game with the Utes. That’s pretty good considering the head coach who recruited this class left, however it was always expected that this class was going to be coached by Morgan Scalley anyway.
The timing of Moa’s departure is a blow for the Utes, who will need to secure another promising wide receiver to replace Moa, who was expected to be an immediate impact player in Salt Lake City.
Utah has added two wide receivers so far in the transfer portal: Utah State’s Braden Pegan, who had 60 receptions, 926 yards and five touchdowns last season, and San Jose State’s Kyri Shoels, who had 59 receptions, 768 yards and two touchdowns.
