Tennessee Vols’ latest win on the recruiting trail didn’t look like it was going to happen the night before the big announcement
The Tennessee Vols earned a huge win on the recruiting trail on Thursday afternoon by landing 2026 five-star athlete Salesi Moa. Moa, 6-foot-1/190 lbs from Ogden, UT, is rated in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 1 player in the state of Utah and the No. 31 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class. Tennessee […]
The Tennessee Vols earned a huge win on the recruiting trail on Thursday afternoon by landing 2026 five-star athlete Salesi Moa.
Moa, 6-foot-1/190 lbs from Ogden, UT, is rated in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 1 player in the state of Utah and the No. 31 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class.
Tennessee won the battle for Moa despite the fact that the five-star recruit is a Utah legacy (his dad played for the Utes).
According to On3’s Hunter Shelton, Moa’s agent informed the Utes the night before the commitment announcement that the talented recruit would be choosing Utah.
The Vols, meanwhile, didn’t find out that Moa would be choosing Tennessee until “moments before” the announcement.
“As for Moa, his agent told Utah the night before his decision that the Utes were good,” wrote Shelton. “Tennessee found out just moments before announcing he was choosing the Vols over Utah.”
Shelton also noted that Vols head coach Josh Heupel and wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope “spoke extensively” with Moa the night before he announced his commitment to Tennessee.
Moa is a dynamic player who can line up on either side of the ball.
“He can play receiver and he can play safety at an elite level,” said CBS Sports’ Brandon Huffman. “Again, we’re not saying he’s going to be the next Travis Hunter, but if there’s somebody in this class that could really do each side of the ball at an elite level, it is Salesi. We’ve see him for the last couple of years shine on the seven-on-seven circuit on both sides of the ball.
“But he’ll be playing receiver to start out at Tennessee. Josh Heupel did tell him there will be some defensive packages there. But to get a player of his positional versatility from a state like Utah, which has been cranking out some top talent in recent years, that’s a big win for Josh Heupel — especially beating some of the schools they did head to head.”
On3’s Steve Wiltfong said Thursday that he believes Moa could be one of the best players in Knoxville by year two.
Tennessee now has 23 commits to its 2026 recruiting class, which is currently ranked No. 9 in the nation.
Tennessee Volunteers News
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