Utah football loses 4-star signee to the transfer portal

The Utes' 2026 recruiting class has taken a major blow

Utah Utes head coach Morgan Scalley lost a pivotal piece of his 2026 recruiting class to the transfer portal on Monday. | Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

Salesi Moa's playing career at Utah appears to be ending before it even officially began.

Moa, a four-star athlete who signed with the Utes as part of their 2026 recruiting class, has entered the transfer portal, according to reports from On3 and CBS Sports.

Moa, a product of Fremont High School (Fremont, Utah), was the top-ranked player in the state when he put pen to paper during the early signing period in December. The 6-foot-1 prospect was the No. 76 player nationally and No. 5 athlete in the 2026 class, according to 247Sports.

Moa's decision came not even a week after he was reportedly in Salt Lake City and enrolled in classes at Utah. His abrupt departure would be a significant blow for Utah's 2026 class.

Michigan is expected to play a role in Moa's recruitment once again after making a push for his commitment in early December. With Kyle Whittingham and several other former Utah staffers now in Ann Arbor, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Moa follow suit.

Michigan hosted Moa on a visit during the Nov. 29 weekend, coinciding with Michigan's 27-9 loss to Ohio State. Moa told 247Sports his stay in Ann Arbor was good, but that the plan was to stick with Tennessee, the school he originally committed to in July.

Utah eventually got Moa to sign following a late push from the Utes' coaching staff. Utah had recruited Moa to help out on offense at wide receiver, though the possibility he'd play on both sides of the ball was on the table as well.

Moa was quite the two-way star during his senior year at Fremont. He hauled in 16 touchdowns and over 1,200 receiving yards while recording 57 tackles, 3 interceptions and a defensive touchdown.

Moa was the second four-star recruit to sign with Utah during the day of the early signing period, joining offensive tackle recruit Maatalii Benjamin. Moa also became the second-highest graded Utah signee in the history of 247Sports' database, trailing only fellow 2026 classmate, Kelvin Obot. Moa had a composite grade of 0.9781 — just shy of Obot at 0.9872.

Moa was Utah's first 2026 signee to either back out of their letter of intent or enter the transfer portal since it was announced that Whittingham would be the next head coach of Michigan. The Wolverines have signed a few important players from Whittingham's old team during the transfer portal cycle, including All-American pass rusher John Henry Daley and emerging wide receiver talent JJ Buchanan.

Utah incoming five-star Class of 2026 athlete signee Salesi Moa has entered the transfer portal with a do not contact tag, @chris_hummer and I have learned.

Had just signed with Utah in December. pic.twitter.com/PBnchOsXqo

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 12, 2026