After being a key part of Crew 2's successful season in MLS Next Pro last year, culminating with winning the inaugural MLS Next Pro Cup , Philip Quinton has signed a first team contract with the Crew.
The 6-6 center back was drafted by the Crew with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2022 SuperDraft after four seasons at Notre Dame. After his year with Crew 2, Quinton told the Crew's front office that he wanted to earn a contract with the first team, and his work in preseason training resulted in a contract for the 2023 season with options through 2026.
"He showed a lot of personality," Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said. "He showed a lot of good things also with the ball and without the ball. Yes, he has a lot of things that he has to improve, but I like his personality. I like the fact that he's a quick learner. For me, this is a good example that impossible is an opinion.
"He's been fighting for a contract and he was able to be consistent and also show a lot of personality, so he deserved that. This is only the beginning. He knows that now he's going to have to adjust himself in terms of everything, because this is the way it is, but really happy for him, and he deserved it."
Born in Columbus, Quinton's family moved to Portland, Oregon when he was a year old, and he spent his childhood there before heading to Notre Dame for college. After his senior year at Notre Dame, during which he helped the Irish to an ACC tournament title and the semifinals of the NCAA College Cup, he was drafted by the Crew and played his first professional season with Crew 2 last year.
Quinton started 17 games for Crew 2 last season, including all three playoff games, and played a total of 1,513 minutes across 19 appearances. His 88.8% passing completion rate ranked third among Crew 2's defenders. Quinton believes the strength of Crew 2 as a team last year has helped with his initial adjustment to working at the MLS level.
"The standard we had last year at Crew 2 was really high, so that's helped a ton," Quinton said. "The players we had in our sessions last year prepared me well. There's definitely always a learning curve when you make a jump up, so it's just about being able to weather that and kind of use it to your advantage."
Depth at center back was one of the biggest questions for the Crew heading into the 2023 season, particularly given Nancy's preference to play with three center backs, and adding Quinton to the group brings the Crew to five center backs on the roster. Homegrown player Keegan Hughes signed a two-year contract at the beginning of preseason to join Miloš Degenek, Jonathan Mensah and Josh Williams in the center back group, and other players — namely Steven Moreira and Jake Morris — have also worked at center back during the preseason.
When preseason began, Quinton and the Crew were still engaged in conversations about a new contract, and Quinton joined the Crew for training as a trialist. On the second day, Nancy and his coaching staff put the Crew through a rigorous test of their cardio fitness, commonly known as a beep test, and Quinton was the last player running by a margin of several minutes.
That performance was a sign that Quinton was putting his full effort into earning a contract with the Crew, and almost exactly a month later, he did.
"I knew that I enjoyed my time here in Columbus and I didn't want to have it end," Quinton said. "For me, it was really a no-brainer. As soon as the opportunity was presented to me, I had a lot of confidence in myself and also I was really excited about the future and the direction of the club. I thought it was a win-win regardless and I'm really grateful to have been able to come here this preseason and have it all work out the way it did."
After signing Quinton, the Crew now have 26 of 30 roster spots filled for the 2023 season.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew sign center back Philip Quinton from Crew 2
