North Carolina has made a big splash on the recruiting trail, and it came at the cost of some big college football names. On Friday, 3-star defensive tackle Viliami Moala committed to the Tar Heels, giving Bill Belichick’s program a powerful addition on the interior line. The recruiting victory came over both Oregon’s Dan Lanning and USC’s Lincoln Riley in the process.
🚨BREAKING🚨 DL Viliami Moala has committed to North Carolina, @SWiltfong_ reports🐏
Moala is a former USC and Oregon commit.
Read: https://t.co/oDxy6tFUea pic.twitter.com/dSG3tJQso8
— Rivals (@Rivals) August 1, 2025
Moala, a former Oregon commit, reopened his recruitment in early July. North Carolina did not take long to take the opportunity. Moala was not short of elite interest, with offers coming in from Miami, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Utah. However, what won him over was Belichick’s program and also the pitch by a defensive line coach, Bob Diaco.
Moala is 6-foot-2.5 and weighs more than 340 pounds, which is a rare size and production. He had 99 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, and 35 QB hurries as a junior at Bingham High School in Utah. He’ll finish his high school career at Thompson High School in Alabaster, Alabama, one of the top programs in the country (Rivals).
“Moala has many of the traits coveted on the interior of the defensive line,” Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong said in his breakdown of the commitment.
That obligation moves the 2026 class at UNC to 34 total recruits and sends a resounding message to the rest of the country: Bill Belichick and his staff are not playing catch-up; they are setting the pace.
UNC Strengthens the Trenches With 2026 Interior Haul
Moala is the newest addition to what is turning out to be one of the most physical defensive line classes in the nation. He adds to the four-star Trashawn Ruffin, Jimmy Alo-Suliafu of Texas, and David Jackson of Good Counsel in Maryland to give UNC an imposing front-line group. All four are ranked at 300 pounds and above, and each of them can cause havoc at the point of attack.
Defensive line is one area that Belichick made a point of prioritizing in this recruiting cycle. And the results show that he has certainly done that in this class. Senior Associate Director of Player Personnel Chris Jones played a pivotal role in sealing Moala’s commitment, further cementing UNC’s recruiting staff as one of the more aggressive in the nation this year (as per On3).
The message seems pretty clear to the rest of college football. The Belichick era is in full swing, and elite prospects are being sold on it.
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