The roles Salesi Moa, Savion Hiter could play as true freshmen in 2026

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Despite a new coaching staff, Michigan did a remarkable job keeping its 2026 recruiting class together for the most part. That includes the crown jewel of the class in five-star running back Savion Hiter, one of the nation’s top overall recruits regardless of position.

Not only did Michigan keep him in the fold, but it was also able to make a late addition to the class with highly-touted four-star athlete Salesi Moa, who was briefly enrolled at Utah before hopping in the transfer portal and following Kyle Whittingham to Ann Arbor.

With a pair of high-upside freshmen, the Michigan offense is looking to take a big step forward in 2026 under first-year coordinator Jason Beck. In the early days of spring camp, both players already appear to be turning heads with Moa already considered one of the team’s top pass-catchers. Whittingham also said Hiter would be “special” in his press conference last week.

True freshmen seeing the field isn’t a rarity, but its something that’s become less common in today’s era of college football when major programs like Michigan have the ability to recruit veteran players at positions of need via the portal. And even though Michigan made badly-needed additions in the portal on offense, it’s not hard to see that Moa and Hiter could still have paths to seeing the field early and often.

Many recruiting experts believed Moa could make an impact on either offense or defense at the Power 4 level, but Michigan could probably get him on the field the quickest by steering his focus to the offense. With Andrew Marsh and the portal additions of J.J. Buchanan and Jaime Ffrench, the Wolverines now have a trio of wide receivers that complement each other well. Marsh and Buchanan have shown the ability to excel both outside the numbers and over the middle, while Ffrench and Marsh can both make plays down the field.

After more time developing in college, Moa could develop into a do-it-all wide receiver, but his speed and shiftiness could at least be used in a gadget-type role for right now. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get a chance to return punts or kickoffs either.

Think of the 2023 version of Semaj Morgan that could make defenders miss and score any time the ball was in his hands. That’s not to say Moa can’t or won’t develop into more than that, but with the presence of other established wideouts on the team right now, it might take a bit of time before we’re seeing Moa play as more of a traditional wide receiver. However, he does enter college as a more polished player than Morgan did, which makes it possible for him to have a larger role than Morgan ever did as a freshman.

As for Hiter, his role might be a bit more cut and dry — he’ll probably be seeing the field much more early on. Already at 6-foot, 210 pounds, Hiter appears ready to take on the physical demands of Big Ten football. His production at the high school level was also other-worldly, with a total of 3,153 yards and 51 rushing touchdowns across his junior and senior seasons.

Hiter is known as more of a power than a speed back, but he still has the burst to get downfield and pick up big chunks of yards in a hurry. He has a similar skillset to Jordan Marshall, who will be Michigan’s lead running back in 2026, which aligns well with the physical style of play of Whittingham-coached teams. Marshall and Hiter would likely be used in similar packages early on, with Marshall understandably getting the bulk of the carries.

Hiter does have at least somewhat of an ability to impact the passing game, as he registered 199 receiving yards and three touchdowns as a junior. But this is still an area of his game that will need some development. He’s not nearly at the level that someone like Donovan Edwards was as a freshman, but it’s a good tool to have in his back pocket nonetheless.

As it stands this spring, Michigan has enough offensive weapons that it shouldn’t need Moa or Hiter to be stars right away. Instead, both are in good positions where they can see the field a good amount right away and grow more comfortable in the college game, all without the pressure of having to carry their respective position group.

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