Oklahoma State defensive backs coach Jason Jones has emerged as a candidate to replace Charlie Harbison who left Clemson last Saturday for Auburn.

Jones has been in touch with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney as well as defensive coordinator Brent Venables. He has been on an Oklahoma State staff in the last four years that has gone 48-16. He joined the staff in 2008.

Five of Jones former players are currently in the NFL.

Jones has coached three different Cowboy corners to first-team All-Big 12 honors in the last three seasons, with Perrish Cox earning the honor in 2009, Andrew McGee in 2010 and Brodrick Brown in 2011. Cox and Brown were both semifinalists for the Thorpe Award given to the nation’s most outstanding defensive back and Brown was a semifinalist for the 2011 Lott/IMPACT Trophy given to the defensive player who best combines excellence on the field with excellence off the field.

Jones coached Cox to first-team All-America honors in 2009 when he led the nation in passes defended. Brown ranked third nationally in the same category in 2011 for the Cowboys.

Jacob Lacey ranked second in the Big 12 and 16th nationally in passes defended in 2008. He was honored as a second-team all-Big 12 cornerback by the conference’s coaches and is now a starting corner for the Indianapolis Colts.

Before coming to Stillwater, Jones was at Tulsa, where he served as cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator in 2007. He helped the Golden Hurricane to a 10-4 record, an appearance in the Conference USA championship game, and a 63-7 win over Bowling Green in the 2008 GMAC Bowl.

Success has followed Jones at each of his coaching stops. In 2006, he served as the cornerbacks coach at Rice University, helping the Owls to their first bowl trip in 45 years as the Owls competed in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

In his first stint at Tulsa, Jones coached cornerbacks and helped the Golden Hurricane to a Conference USA championship and an appearance in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

His first coaching job came as a graduate assistant at Alabama, where he helped his alma mater to an appearance in the Music City Bowl.

With Jones leading the Tulsa secondary in 2005, the Hurricane defense ranked third nationally in takeaways (36) and interceptions (22) and was 11th nationally in pass efficiency defense and 17th in pass defense.

Jones’ cornerbacks totaled 13 of those interceptions and had 29 passes defended.

Jones played at Alabama from 1996-’99, where he helped the Crimson Tide play in two SEC Championship games.