Last year, Ute fans got a bit of a surprise on signing day, when offensive lineman Simi Moala, who originally committed to Oregon State in 2015 before serving an LDS mission, flipped his commitment to Utah and joined the team for spring ball. Moala immediately stood out from a physical standpoint, even among Utah’s hefty offensive line, towering over most of his teammates at 6-foot-7. For Moala, spring camp of 2018 was mostly about getting back into condition and learning the basics of a new position. Throughout his high school career, and even for his first few days as a Ute, Moala played defensive end, but it didn’t take long for Jim Harding to snap him up and switch him over to offense. The move was inevitable.

Moala understandably struggled in his first spring camp as a Ute, thanks to being fresh off a mission, slightly underweight, and trying to learn a new position. However, he’s made plenty of progress over the last year, and during Utah’s most recent spring camp, it was apparent that he had put on some good weight, getting up to 305 pounds, and was in much better shape. He also looked more comfortable playing offensive tackle and saw plenty of time with the second unit during spring practices.

Andrew Fronce’s take

Moala is a promising contender to take over one of the starting tackle spots next year, once Darrin Paulo has graduated. At first, I was a little uncertain how he would take to offensive line, but after a year of learning from Jim Harding and his teammates, Moala looks a lot more comfortable on that side of the ball. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s been able to put on 25-30 pounds since he joined the team. Moala probably isn’t quite ready to challenge for a starting job this year, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see his name on the two-deep this season. With another year to learn the position and refine his skills, Moala could be well on his way to being a force at one of the tackle spots for the Utes.

All that being said, sources have told Alex Markham that Moala should be one to watch, come fall camp.

Alex remembers Moala’s recruitment

Okay, let me start this off by saying, Simi, I forgive you. This was one of the most bizarre recruiting stories I’ve ever dealt with. First off, I was tipped off by my sources that he had committed, so I called him and he gave me commitment quotes. I was in the middle of writing his commitment article when he backed out, and later committed to Gary Andersen at Oregon State.

Look, I get it, kids get cold feet—Simi was one of them and he did say that it was a soft commit. That being said, he’s a Ute now, and seems at peace with his final decision.