Five-star incoming Utah freshman signee enters transfer portal

A general view of the helmet worn by the Utah Utes. Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Five-star incoming Utah freshman signee Salesi Moa enters transfer portal

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Jan 13, 2026 1:33 AM ET

This is a strange era of college football. The transfer portal is basically always open, and NIL deals have made it so that every offseason has become similar to NFL free agency.

The world of recruiting has always been a bit wild, but the two factors above have really ramped up the silliness of it all.

The Utah Utes are finding that out in the case of incoming freshman Salesi Moa.

According to reports, Moa, who signed with the Utes in December and enrolled on Jan. 5, is entering the transfer portal.

For those keeping track, not only has he not even come close to playing a snap for Utah, but he's barely been enrolled for a week.

The news was announced on Monday evening.

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

Utah 2026 athlete signee Salesi Moa enters transfer portal

While this move may be easily explained by former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham becoming the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, the timing of this all makes it pretty ridiculous.

Whittingham announced on December 12, 2025, that he wouldn't be coming back to Utah and that the Las Vegas Bowl against the Nebraska Cornhuskers would be his last game. He was hired by Michigan on December 28, so he didn't even make it to the bowl game.

In the meantime, Moa, who signed with the Utes on Dec. 4 at the start of the early signing period, could have asked out of his National Letter of Intent before enrolling on Jan. 5.

He had plenty of time to figure out if he wanted to stay at Utah without Whittingham, and he even had some time between the coach being hired by Michigan and his official start at Utah to back out.

Yes, it would have been messy, but asking out of an NLI is not uncommon — especially in this era of college football.

Now it's both a mess and ridiculous, especially since he's entering the portal with a "no contact tag."

One would imagine that he'll end up in Ann Arbor with Whittingham sooner rather than later, but just because he entered his name into the portal does not mean that new Utah head coach Morgan Scalley doesn't have a chance to get the 5-star to change his mind.

From Ogden, Utah, Moa is ranked as the No. 3 athlete in the 2026 class.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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