Report confirms why an elite recruit ended up at Michigan instead of Tennessee despite being a one-time Vols commit
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At one point last fall, it looked like the Tennessee Vols were going to sign four elite wide receiver recruits during the 2026 cycle.
Tennessee held commitments, at one time, from five-star wide receiver TK Keys, five-star wide receiver Legend Bey, four-star wide receiver Salesi Moa, and four-star wide receiver Tyreek King.
Only two of those players — Keys and King — ended up landing with the Volunteers.
Bey technically signed with the Vols, but he quickly flipped to Ohio State following some signing day drama.
Moa, meanwhile, decommitted from Tennessee during the early signing period and flipped to Utah, the school where his father played college football.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham resigned not long after landing Moa.
As a result, Moa entered the NCAA transfer portal when it opened.
Why didn’t Salesi Moa end up at Tennessee?
When news first broke that Whittingham was resigning at Utah, there was immediate speculation that Moa could transfer to Tennessee.
Those hopes quickly disappeared, however, when Whittingham agreed to become the new head coach of the Michigan Wolverines.
Moa visited Michigan in late November when he was still committed to Tennessee. Once Wittingham agreed to take over at Michigan, it seemed inevitable that Moa would join him.
But even if Wittingham had not taken the job at Michigan, it’s still unlikely that Moa would’ve ended up at Tennessee.
Moa’s dad told The Athletic that the reason the four-star athlete decommitted from Tennessee was in large part because the Vols continued to recruit highly-rated wide receivers.
“At first, Salesi was excited to be part of a loaded receiving corps at Tennessee, Ben (Moa) said,” wrote The Athletic’s Austin Meek this week. “That changed as the Volunteers continued recruiting wide receivers, including five-star prospect TK Keys, who flipped from LSU in August. The Moas saw Whittingham as a rock-solid coach who would be transparent about the plan for Salesi, and that was a driving factor in his decision to flip from Tennessee to Utah in December.”
Keys flipped from LSU to Tennessee about a month after Moa committed to the Vols.
This is one of the tricky parts about recruiting for college coaches. Pursuing one recruit may run off another recruit. It’s something coaches constantly have to balance. In this situation, there wasn’t much else Tennessee could do. They put their best foot forward, and it was nearly enough to land all four of their top wide receiver targets.
Still, two out of four isn’t bad — especially considering some of Tennessee’s past coaching staffs would’ve gone 0-for-4.
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This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Feb 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the Nashville section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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