Brandon Jones, one of the nation's top safety recruits, took a big step in his recruiting process Saturday.

The senior Nacogdoches star announced via his personal Twitter account that he has narrowed down the list of schools he would be interested in attending for college down to six. He bid farewell to 35 other Division I colleges that were interested in taking him.

The survivors are Alabama, Baylor, LSU, Oregon, Texas and Texas A&M. All six schools have been ranked in the final Associated Press' top 10 within the past 10 years.

Alabama, LSU and Texas have won national champions in the span. Those three schools and Oregon have all made at least a second national championship game appearance in the timeframe.

But even one of the final six schools will have to be trimmed in the near future. Seniors are entitled to five official college visits.

An official visit is where a school pays the travel expenses to have a prospective player visit their campus. The events usually coincide with a football game on campus.

However, Jones can visit any campus he wants to at any time if he pays his own way.

The safety will begin his senior campaign at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Nacogdoches visits Kilgore for its opening game.

Jones' best season thus far was his sophomore year. He recorded 95 tackles, five interceptions and three defensive touchdowns.

His junior season was derailed by a strained PCL injury sustained in the third game of the season. Initially thought to be season-ending, Jones returned to the defensive backfield for the final two regular season games and competed in Nacogdoches' opening round playoff loss to Marshall en route to 30 tackles and two forced fumbles.

Nacogdoches will be competing in the toughest Class 5A district in the state this season, District 16-5A. The league features defending Class 5A Division II state champion Ennis, Class 5A Division I state semifinalist John Tyler and the storied Lufkin football program.

Furthermore, Whitehouse will be looking for revenge at home against Nacogdoches after blowing a 19-point lead which allowed Jones and company to make the playoffs in a pivotal head-to-head game. Lindale and Corsicana also are expected to be better this year.

Jones will play the season and then becomes eligible to sign with any program that offers him on Feb. 3, 2016.

More From East Texas Sports Network