Former Tennessee football verbal commit Salesi Moa is in the transfer portal ahead of his first collegiate season. After signing with Utah, the Utes moved on from head coach Kyle Whittingham. As a response, Moa entered the portal this past Monday.
Moa has now seemingly made a decision on his new school, as well. According to a report from Rivals, he will announce his new commitment on Friday, Jan. 16, at the Polynesian Bowl.
The favorite to land his new commitment is Michigan. Not only is that where Whittingham took over after leaving Utah, but Moa was previously recruited by the Wolverines and heavily considered the school in the initial recruiting process.
Though Tennessee held his commitment for a portion of the recruiting process and didn’t lose him until early signing day, it doesn’t appear that the Vols are strong contenders to bring him back in the fold. Moa entered with a ‘do not contact’ tag, as well.
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Moa is a legacy recruit for the Utes, with his father playing tight end for the program. He has a brother at UConn and another at Michigan State, which he also had in consideration.
Moa ranks as the No. 45 player in the country, according to 247 composite rankings. There was a period where he was a composite five-star on the service, but recent ranking refreshes have pushed him back to a consensus four-star rating.
He is considered the No. 3 athlete in the country and the No. 1 player out of Utah. He was believed to be the first Tennessee player ever from Utah if he had stuck with his commitment. There was still a loose geographical tie to the Vols, though. Josh Heupel began his playing career at Weber State, located in Moa’s hometown.
Moa is projected to play both sides of the ball at the next level. While he may start on just one side, he has shown the ability to be an elite wide receiver and defensive back. The Vols have tried to make this work with both Dee Williams and Boo Carter, but Williams’ switch was in the middle of the season, and Carter had issues off the playing field that put a halt to those plans.
Tennessee still signed a great class without Moa in the boat. The Vols’ group ranked top-five in the country for the cycle on 247.
