On Wednesday, the same day 247 listed [autotag]Xavier Thomas[/autotag] as the No. 4 overall player in the class of 2018, the four-star defensive end from Florence-Wilson released his top-five.

Florida State, [autotag]Clemson[/autotag], South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia were the teams he listed in order.

Why is Florida State No. 1?

“Well, of course, it was the fact that they offered me first. Coach (Brad) Lawing and I are very close, he is a great coach. And, also, coach Jimbo Fisher invited me into his office and had a private conversation with him. The coaching staff and alumni and just everything was just amazing,” Thomas said, during an interview with TheClemsonInsider.

At this time a year ago, Thomas might have laughed at the thought of being interested in Clemson. He grew up rooting for South Carolina and was as anti-Clemson as they come. His mom was, too.

That, however, has changed. Last month’s trip for the Dabo Swinney Football Camp made a favorable impression on Thomas and his mom.

“I left Clemson amazed and now she and I are fans, just by the facilities, coaches, alumni and everywhere you went you saw purple and orange,” Thomas said. “And, also, the number one thing to (mom) was the graduation rate, which they were number two in the country.”

South Carolina has some catching up to do.

“That was always a childhood dream,” he said of the Gamecocks’ offer. “I grew up watching them and especially (Jadeveon) Clowney the past years. Once they offered me it was very emotional, because it was always a dream of playing in Williams-Brice, but it’s the simple fact that they waited to offer me which had me having second thoughts about them.”

Thomas is scheduled to visit Clemson for the Florida State game. He’ll head to South Carolina for the LSU, Florida and Clemson games.

The rising sophomore is nowhere near a decision. He’s going to wait until at least his junior year before making a commitment.

As a freshman, Thomas had 59 tackles and eight sacks.