On Jan. 11, Norfolk (Va.) Maury four-star cornerback Sheridan Jones announced he would be reclassifying from the 2020 class to the class of 2019.

Clemson, which is preparing to sign a full recruiting class in 2019, pulled the trigger on a scholarship offer to Jones the same day as his announcement.

Since then, the Tigers have made the top-100 prospect a priority. They invited Jones to attend their elite junior day in late January and have kept in constant contact with him since he was on campus.

“All the time,” Jones said of how much he communicates with Clemson. “They’re really consistent with their recruiting.”

Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables and cornerbacks coach Mike Reed are heading his recruitment and building a good relationship with him.

“We talk about a lot,” Jones said, “including football, family and just life period.”

Both Venables and head coach Dabo Swinney have voiced their concerns about Clemson’s secondary depth, or the lack thereof, as it stands now.

Cornerback is a position of need the Tigers are aiming to address with their 2019 class, and they are hoping Jones will help replenish the cupboard of talent at the position, so to speak.

“They are in a need for corners and they think I’m the one to get the job done,” Jones said. “Coach Venables believes I can be the Deshaun Watson of the team but at corner because of my leadership on and off the field.”

“They are definitely a top team in the country and to hear that from them is exciting,” he added.

Jones (6-1, 170) is ranked by ESPN as the No. 7 cornerback and No. 80 overall prospect in the country.

In addition to Clemson, he owns offers from Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, Georgia, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Penn State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and a number of others.

Jones told TCI he will pubicly release his top seven schools this Saturday.

Clemson is a lock to make the list.

“I guess it is pretty obvious,” Jones said, laughing.

Why is Clemson one of his favorites?

“They make me feel like a top priority,” he said. “They show a lot of love, and Clemson is definitely the best of both worlds if we’re talking academically and athletically.”

Jones plans to return to Clemson for the Orange & White spring game on April 14. Besides the junior day visit to Clemson on Jan. 20, he has been to Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia Tech this year. He feels Alabama and Ohio State are recruiting him the hardest right now along with Clemson.