When a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE STORYLINE
Aisea Moa had been committed to Utah since January. He was developing and emerging as one of the better edge rushers not only in the state but also in the West region.
It looked like the Utes were getting a good one.
But the four-star from North Ogden (Utah) Weber backed off his pledge earlier this week and now says he’s open to all programs that are interested in him.
In the last few days, BYU, Texas Tech, Tennessee, Utah State, UCLA and Oregon State have been actively recruiting Moa, who is excellent as a pass rusher as he plays with a fierce toughness to attack players in the backfield.
Although not recognized as such in national circles, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is a fantastic developer of talent, especially under-the-radar in-state guys who don’t get the respect they sometimes deserve.
But now the Utes have only seven pledges with one four-star in running back Jaylon Glover, who’s being pursued by Florida and others. It looks like Moa could stay in the Pac-12 but not stay close to home and that hurts the Utes.
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LOCAL REACTION
Aisea is a legacy recruit. His dad Ben played at Utah in the early 2000s, so that angle of this stings. Also optics-wise, no team ever wants to lose a four-star recruit. However, Moa projects as a defensive tackle and Utah has no shortage of quality defensive tackles in their program. Additionally, there’s some question as to whether he’ll go on an LDS mission or not. This was a mutual situation parting of ways. – Alex Markham, UteNation.com
Sting Factor: 6
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Recruiting to Utah can be difficult enough because there aren’t enough players in the state to fill out a recruiting class. It gets more difficult when the Utes have in-state standouts locked up for nine months and then lose them less than three months before the early signing period. Whether this was a parting of ways or Moa’s decision entirely, the four-star is a talented prospect and depth along the defensive line is always useful.
This won’t collapse Utah’s recruiting efforts and the Utes always have elite players that emerge on the defensive line but Moa is an in-state kid who looked like he was going to stick in this class so it does sting a significant amount. – Adam Gorney, Rivals National Recruiting Director
Sting Factor: 7
