Kyle Whittingham wasted no time getting to work in Ann Arbor. He first locked in Bryce Underwood, keeping the prized quarterback at home. Then turned to the transfer portal and brought in 13 new faces to the Big House. Now, just 24 hours after the portal closed, the 66-year-old hit another home run, landing a double jackpot with the commitment of two brothers.

WR Salesi Moa signed with Utah on December 3, 2025, during the Early Signing Period and even began classes. A week later, he hit the transfer portal and committed to Michigan. The cherry on top? His older brother, Aisea Moa, a former Michigan State player, also committed to the Wolverines, sealing a huge two-for-one portal win.

That’s some real firepower on both sides of the ball. Aisea Moa, a redshirt junior linebacker, entered the transfer portal from Michigan State on January 2, 2026, looking for a fresh start and a bigger role. His college journey has already been a winding one. He spent his first two years at BYU but barely saw the field, which pushed him into the portal ahead of the 2025 season.

At Michigan State, Moa appeared in 11 games, mostly on special teams and in a reserve role. He finished with 12 tackles and one tackle for loss. It was solid production, but not the kind of impact he was hoping for. With one year of eligibility left, Moa made it clear he wanted a defense where he could make a “big impact in the middle.” Michigan checks a lot of boxes for him.

For starters, he has strong ties to the new coaching staff under Kyle Whittingham. Moa previously played for Michigan’s new defensive coordinator, Jay Hill, during his time at BYU. On top of that, his uncle, Lewis Powell, is now on staff as Michigan’s defensive ends and EDGE coach. The timing also worked in Michigan’s favor. The Wolverines had a real need for experienced linebackers after several key departures during the coaching transition from Sherrone Moore to Whittingham, including Ernest Hausmann and Jimmy Rolder.

And then there’s the family factor. Moa now gets to line up alongside his younger brother, Salesi, who played a big role in his decision. Salesi had signed with Utah after flipping his commitment from Tennessee and even started classes on January 5. But his commitment to Ann Arbor came down to Whittingham. Salesi was originally recruited to Utah by Whittingham, offensive coordinator Jason Beck, and wide receivers coach Micah Simon.

When that group made the move to Michigan, Salesi followed. As he put it, “They all recruited me to Utah… when they went over to Michigan, I just wanted to go there with them.”

There was also more clarity at Michigan. While the previous staff saw Salesi as a defensive player, the new staff likes him as a wide receiver. It’s his preferred position and the spot where he feels he has the best chance to thrive.

Kyle Whittingham’s secret sauce to success

When Kyle Whittingham walked into the Big House, he already knew exactly what his blueprint was. He wasted no time in bringing in proven Big 12 assistants, many of them familiar faces from his Utah days. The biggest move was hiring Jay Hill as Michigan’s new defensive coordinator. Whittingham knew exactly who he was getting.

Hill played for him at Utah in the late ’90s, spent 12 years on his Utes staff, then went on to become the head coach at Weber State before taking over BYU’s defense. That history mattered. At BYU, Hill turned the Cougars into a defensive force, with units that ranked among the nation’s top 25 in scoring and total defense in each of his final two seasons.

Whittingham then doubled down by bringing over Jason Beck and Micah Simon from Utah. Beck stepped in as offensive coordinator after leading one of the most explosive offenses in the country. Utah finished fifth nationally in scoring and fourth in total offense under his watch. Simon joined as wide receivers coach, the same role he held at Utah in 2025.

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A former BYU wideout himself, Simon already had chemistry with Beck from their previous stops at Syracuse and New Mexico. The common thread here is familiarity. Whittingham knows these coaches, believes in their work, and has seen it first hand. Players entering the transfer portal see that clarity and stability, too. And that’s a big reason why so many of them are choosing Ann Arbor.