To hear general manager Jesse Fioranelli tell it, it didn’t take much convincing for the San Jose Earthquakes to fly in the face of most pre-draft punditry on Friday morning.
Florida International defender Paul Marie didn’t appear in the first round of many mock drafts or media depth charts, but Fioranelli, coach Mikael Stahre and the other members of the Quakes’ brain trust were “unanimous,” according to the GM, when the French-born right back was still available as San Jose prepared to make the No. 12 overall selection in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.
“He was actually the fullback that we rated the highest from the very beginning,” Fioranelli told reporters via conference call Friday after the Quakes selected Marie and forwards Danny Musovski and Mohamed Thiaw on Friday.