Rivalry Week (Part 1) is here, as the Michigan Wolverines take on the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday night for the Paul Bunyan trophy and in-state bragging rights for the year.
With the MSU program
losers of four straight games and head coach Jonathan Smith firmly on the hot seat, it’s no surprise the Spartans aren’t hosting very many highly ranked recruits for this game. But there is one exception, and he is a former target of the Wolverines who appears to be at least considering other programs despite being committed elsewhere.
2026 four-star athlete Salesi Moa (No. 39 overall, No. 2 athlete in the class) took official visits to both Michigan State and Michigan prior to his commitment to Tennessee back in July. However, according to On3, despite that commitment, he will be in East Lansing this weekend for the game.
Here is what On3’s Adam Gorney had to say about it:
Moa’s recruitment has already taken some interesting turns so why not another one? Many expected the four-star athlete from Ogden (Utah) Fremont to pick Utah over the summer – on multiple occasions – but in the end, Tennessee won out for his commitment. The Utes have not given up trying to keep Moa home and now he’s taking a visit to Michigan State this weekend. Maybe it’s something to watch but his brother, Aisea, also plays for the Spartans so it might just be a nice time to get to East Lansing.
As Gorney wrote, the Utah native’s brother actually plays for the Spartans, so that is very likely the main reason he is taking the trip. But I can’t help but wonder if this could end up being a positive for the Wolverines at the end of the day. They are in need of more defensive backs this cycle, with only two players currently committed it four-star cornerback Andre Clarke Jr. and four-star safety Jordan Deck. Moa was among the top targets for Michigan prior to his pledge to the Volunteers.
Perhaps Moa is simply in town to support his brother, but perhaps he wants to watch the game and give Michigan a second look, especially considering how many freshmen have been playing in the secondary this year for the Wolverines.
Of course, this is all a bit of a pipe dream at this point. However, if Michigan lays the hammer tonight against MSU, it certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing if Sherrone Moore and LaMar Morgan were to reach back out to him and see where his head’s at.
Michigan vs Michigan State kicks off at 7:45 p.m. on NBC.
