Aisea Moa has decided to transfer from MSU to Michigan to join his old defensive coordinator Jay Hill and his brother, recent U-M commit Salesi Moa.
Just 12 hours after sealing the deal on one Moa brother, Michigan football has landed another.
Incoming freshman Salesi Moa pledged to join the Wolverines live at the Polynesian bowl in Hawaii on Friday, Jan. 16. By the time Saturday rolled around, his older brother, linebacker Aisea Moa, announced on social media he too would be on his way to Ann Arbor.
Aisea spent last season at Michigan State, largely in a reserve role as he recorded 12 total tackles, one for loss in the season opener against Western Michigan. He played a career-high 180 snaps on defense, including 110 in the box, 57 on the edge and 13 at slot corner (though that may have been just a flexed out edge or a spin down linebacker).
— Aisea Moa (@aiseamoa_8) January 17, 2026
He added another 89 snaps on special teams, playing in every unit including kick return, punt return, kickoff, punt and field goal/extra point blocks. While joining his brother was likely a key reason for his pledge to Ann Arbor, he has other ties to the staff.
Aisea previously played three years at BYU (2022-24) where Jay Hill, now Michigan defensive coordinator, held the same position in Provo. Aisea took an official visit to Ann Arbor last week, and has one year of eligibility remaining.
Aisea should have a spot to compete for playing time at a position that lost all four players atop the depth chart from the 2025 season: Cole Sullivan (Oklahoma), Ernest Hausmann (medical retirement), Jimmy Rolder (NFL) and Jaishawn Barham (NFL) are gone, and the program whiffed on its top-two candidates in the portal in Rasheem Biles (Pittsburgh to Texas) and Cade Uluave (Cal to BYU).
Aisea is the 18th transfer portal commit to join new coach Kyle Whittingham in Ann Arbor.
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Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football adds Aisea Moa, Michigan State LB transfer
Category: General Sports
