Quinton Elliot said no to Indiana in the first go-around of recruiting.
The Charleston, West Virginia native chose to commit to Louisville’s soccer program. Indiana and West Virginia finished as finalists for Top Drawer Soccer’s 170th-ranked recruit.
But, after two years at Louisville, the left-back left the Cardinals and entered the transfer portal. Immediately picking up the phone was Todd Yeagley and co., and shortly thereafter Elliot was donning the Cream and Crimson.
“I couldn’t pass it up again,” Elliot said.
Elliot’s playing career has taken many turns, but he has managed to put the right people in his inner circle who have guided him with every move. Now, he has found a home at IU and has already made an impact, starting at both left and right back for Todd Yeagley, and has been an easy plug-and-play for the Hoosiers after losing five-year Swiss-army-knife Brett Bebej to graduation.
His commitment to IU wasn’t the first time that Elliot found a new home in his playing career. In eighth grade, Elliot was recruited by the Columbus Crew Academy, the youth team for the MLS’ Columbus Crew. During his final year of middle school, his parents would make the 160-mile trip back and forth so their youngest son could develop his skills. Depending on traffic, one way could take up to three and a half hours.
“That first year was rough,” Elliot said in regards to the travel. “So much credit to my parents, because I wasn't driving yet…I'm obviously beyond grateful for them and everything they did to help me get here. Because without them, I really wouldn’t be in this spot.”
It was pretty clear that the frequent car rides weren’t in the forecast for the long term. Conversations were had between Quinton and his parents, Andy and Shannon, about Quinton’s future with the Crew Academy and what the next steps were. Seemingly every child has conversations with their parents that go along the lines of, “if this is really something you want to pursue, you need to let us know so we can support you.”
It was no different in the Elliot household. It made it a bit easier that Quinton’s older brother, Drew, was starting his freshman year at West Virginia (not for athletics, although he did grow up playing soccer, tennis and basketball).
With Drew no longer home, the family made the move to Columbus, right before Quinton’s freshman year at New Albany High School.
The transition, just like any, was difficult, considering Quinton was leaving all his hometown friends just a month before the first day of classes to begin a new chapter in his life.
“I didn't know anybody in Columbus, so I didn't know if it was going to be something that I would really enjoy,” Elliot said.
While Elliot had some of his closest friends on the Crew team, it wasn’t necessarily easy for him to make new friends in school. Quinton’s schedule wasn’t aligned with everyone else’s, making the transition more difficult.
“I only went to school till one o'clock, so I didn't get to walk out with the rest of the kids at the end of the day,” Elliot said. “I didn't have all the classes with everyone, so it was tough getting to meet new people.”
Not only did Elliot have to deal with the location change, but his position on the field was also switched once he started playing with Columbus, considering he grew up as a midfielder in his rec days. Over his six years playing in Columbus with the Academy team and the 2022 season with the Columbus Crew 2 of MLS Next Pro, Elliot became quite a versatile player with the different positions he played.
“When I got to Columbus, I started as a winger, and that was fun,” Elliot said. “I got moved around a little bit. I played a little bit at the nine, got to score a few goals, and then kind of whenever I went to that Crew 2 during that time was whenever I got transitioned into a fullback, and that's where it kind of started, and it stuck. And I'm so happy I made that move to fullback, because for me on the field, I like being able to see the field but still being able to get forward.”
Elliot had found a home at fullback but soon needed to figure out where his home was going to be for the next four years of his college life. Even though he wasn’t getting looked at too much when he was on Columbus’ U17 team (the year recruiting opened up), a strong showcase at the U19 level was when Elliot started gaining attention.
“I had a really good showcase, and that's when a bunch of schools reached out,” Elliot said. “West Virginia was up there. Marshall a little but. Louisville was there. IU, Xavier and some other schools. WVU, IU and Louisville were like my top three that I really considered.”
Elliot had to consider whether to stay in the Midwest or return home to the Mountain State. With his soccer schedule keeping him busy in high school, he didn’t get the chance to visit his older brother at West Virginia as much as he wanted but was familiar with the campus and school spirit, considering his parents had football season tickets.
“Our family had season tickets whenever we were growing up before things got crazy,” Elliot said. “So yeah, I was at a few football games. Those were always core memories, good times with everyone.”
There was a clear connection to West Virginia. His parents, who never pushed Quinton in any direction, were willing to go on a bunch of different visits so he could figure out the best setting.
“(My parents) loved Indiana out of high school,” Elliot said.
While they had their eyes set on Bloomington, their son couldn’t decide.
“I was torn,” Elliot said. “It took me, like, a month or two to figure out the decision. I couldn't choose one. Obviously, I was in love with IU. That was my first visit.”
Financials in the end was a deciding factor for Elliot, even though in his mind, it was really a toss-up.
Elliot got to Louisville and saw a healthy share of minutes in his freshman year, starting in 17 of the 18 matches he appeared in, tallying two assists. But, Elliot felt he still wasn’t at his best even with the successful first year.
“The first year at Louisville had its ups and downs,” Elliot said. “There were moments where I was happy, but there were moments where I wasn't really at my highest. Freshman year was all good, but I was like, OK, we'll see how one more season goes, and if I enjoy it, I’ll stay. If not, I'll just make the move.”
Elliot wasn’t the only one considering a move after a second year at Louisville. Fortunately for him, his three roommates (Sammy Murphy, David Boccuzzo and Damien Barker John) were also in the same boat, giving them all a safe space to bounce ideas off each other.
“I can’t thank those guys enough,” Elliot said. “Those kids are like family to me.”
David, Damien and Quinton were practically adopted into Sammy’s family. Every Sunday, the four of them would join Sammy’s grandparents for brunch, considering they were local.
“I was able to talk to them pretty much about anything, relationships, soccer, even just like regular life, like problems, or even just regular conversation,” Elliot said. “It made it a lot easier, because it's a big decision to make, especially when you don't know what's on the other side.”
Elliot tried to stay focused as much as he could during the 2023 season but admitted there were late nights when he would think about what the future looked like. Elliot would tell his parents his thoughts about potentially entering the transfer portal and restarting the process of finding a new home.
There were notable highs during Elliot’s second year at Louisville, including beating No. 1 seed Notre Dame in the ACC Tournament semifinals, 4-3. Elliot assisted the opening goal in the seven-goal thriller. That win, one of Elliot’s most memorable games he’s played in, propelled the Cardinals to the NCAA Tournament. L’ville defeated Dayton 4-3 (Elliot had an assist in that match, too) before losing to No. 5 West Virginia, 1-0, in Elliot’s return to his home state. Elliot finished his sophomore year with two goals and six assists. Despite starting all 21 matches, Elliot knew Louisville didn’t fit, just like the commute from Charleston to Columbus for the Crew Academy in eighth grade.
“We all kind of sat down and figured out what was the plan, and we're like, okay, if we leave, we're going to do it together,” Elliot said, in regards to his roommates joining him in the transfer portal. “We knew that whatever school was best for us we needed to go there and everyone was going to be supportive about it.”
As tough as it was to part ways with a coaching staff he loved, Elliot knew the best was yet to come.
Once Elliot entered the portal, the floodgates opened, and one of the first programs to pick up the phone was Indiana. Elliot recalls that he anticipated the first phone call to be a quick check-in, but it lasted over an hour. Elliot already had some connections with the Cream and Crimson because of his time with the Columbus Crew Academy.
“I think coach (Yeagley) got my contact from Aiden Morris because I knew him in Columbus,” Elliot said. “So he was the connection between the two of us.”
Sam Sarver and JT Harms were also a part of the Crew Academy, so Elliot knew if he transferred to Indiana, the transition would be much easier than it was from middle school to high school.
In Elliot’s first-ever match at Bill Armstrong Stadium, a fall exhibition his sophomore year, Elliot played against Sarver and Harms. Sarver even joked with Elliot that he was playing for the wrong shade of red.
“You’re wearing the wrong jersey,” Sarver said to Elliot at one point during the final tune-up, a 1-0 Indiana victory. Elliot always kept in touch with Sarver and Harms and admitted that it was quite a daunting atmosphere to play in, considering it was simply an exhibition, but the raucous crowd made it seem like a regular season match.
While it took Elliot a few months to decide to enroll at Louisville, it took him only a few weeks after entering the portal to commit to Indiana. Elliot was in Bloomington for the spring 2024 semester and played in Indiana’s spring matches.
“It was kind of an easy decision,” Elliot admitted.
It was just as easy for Indiana to bring him on board, as Todd Yeagley and co. liked Elliot’s ability to push up the pitch, considering he was a converted midfielder.
While the former Louisville roommates kept their options open to potentially all wind up at the same place, the four of them ended up in four different locations. Murphy stayed at Louisville, Boccuzzo transferred to Florida International, and Barker John signed a deal with Phoenix Rising FC of the USL Championship after being drafted in the second round (37th overall) by Real Salt Lake in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft.
Now, Elliot is surrounded by his newest friends in Indiana and he hopes the strong relationships he’s building with the Hoosiers will be like the ones he has with his family and former roommates.
Elliot figures to be a key part of Indiana’s success as they enter the second half of 2024 with lofty expectations, which is nothing new for the blue-blood program.
