Michigan offers former Michigan State LB with ties to new coaching staff

With the departure of rising star Cole Sullivan, the need for some bodies at linebacker has increased. Michigan lost Ernest Hausmann to graduation -- while he also announced he medically retired from football -- and it's likely that Jimmy Rolder heads to the NFL.

As things stand now, the Wolverines will rely on Troy Bowles, Nate Owusu-Boateng, and Chase Taylor in 2026. But there could be help on the way following the Wolverines' offering Michigan State linebacker Aisea Moa.

The former four-star prospect in the 2022 cycle will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Moa's career so far

MSU LB Aisea Moa — Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Moa committed to BYU out of high school. The Utah product had also considered the Utes, but opted to land with the Cougars, where he played his first three seasons of college football -- while redshirting one of those seasons.

After being a rotational piece, Moa decided to transfer out of BYU, where he landed at Michigan State in 2025. Moa appeared in 11 games for Michigan State and logged 180 total snaps. Playing all three linebacker positions, Moa recorded 12 tackles and one TFL.

In 2024, with BYU, Moa had 13 tackles with a 0.5 TFL.

Ties to the current Michigan staff

Jay Hill and Kyle Whittingham — Jeffrey Swinger-Imagn Images

The obvious is that Moa played under Jay Hill at BYU, while he was the Cougars' defensive coordinator, for three years. Moa could come into Ann Arbor and know exactly the way Hill runs things from a defensive perspective.

Secondly, Moa was recruited by Kyle Whittingham at Utah. Whittingham made an effort to land Moa in the '22 cycle, but was unsuccessful in doing so.

But there is another connection on the Michigan staff. New defensive ends coach Lewis Powell is the uncle of Moa. So not only is Moa familiar with Hill and his defense, but he also has a family connection on the team.

We will see if that connection can pull Moa to Ann Arbor, but he would certainly add some depth and someone who would know the scheme.

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