South Carolina received some potential good news on Tuesday night, when DE Xavier Thomas, the No. 2 overall recruit in the class of 2018, named the Gamecocks as a finalist for his services.

Thomas, who currently attends IMG Academy in Florida, tweeted that he’d return to his home state of South Carolina for college.

He named Clemson and South Carolina as his two finalists:

Coach Will Muschamp will have his work cut out for him if he wants to beat out Dabo Swinney and Clemson, who have made the last two College Football Playoffs, but anything is possible over the next year.

According to 247Sports, Thomas is the No. 1 strong-side defensive end in the class of 2018 and the No. 1 overall recruit from the state of South Carolina.