Junior defensive end Whitney Mercilus will forgo his senior season to enter the 2012 NFL Draft. The draft will take place April 26 to 28 at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

He thanked his coaches, teammates and the entire Illinois community on Tuesday as he announced his decision.

“Thank you for all of your support during my time here in Champaign,” Mercilus said. “These have been some of the best times of my life, and I will never forget all that this university means to me.”

Mercilus, a 2011 season captain, is the seventh Illini in the last five years to enter the draft with eligibility remaining, according to a press release.

The previous six were taken in the first three rounds, including three first-rounders – running back Rashard Mendenhall to the Steelers in 2008, cornerback Vontae Davis to the Dolphins in 2009 and defensive tackle Corey Liuget to the Chargers in 2011. Illinois has had five underclassmen picked in the first two rounds since 2008, the second-most among all schools behind only Alabama with six.

Illinois defensive line coach Keith Gilmore showed his support for Mercilus in a statement.

“I’m very proud of Whitney for the amount of work he put in to be in this position,” Gilmore said in the statement. “He really matured during the season and became a terrific leader not only for the defensive line, but for the entire defense.”

Mercilus has tied with Simeon Rice’s single-season record and led the nation with 16 sacks. He also broke Illinois and Big Ten records by forcing nine fumbles on the season. His 22.5 tackles for loss in 2011 led the Big Ten, second in the nation and third for Illinois.

Mercilus’ additional accomplishments include earning consensus first-team All-America honors — the first Illini to do so since 2007, winning the Hendricks Award as the nation’s top defensive end and being named as the College Football Performance Awards National Defensive Player of the Year.

A 2011 season captain, Mercilus helped Illinois to its second-straight winning season and a victory over UCLA in Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

“It was a great feeling to get back to winning, especially with a defensive performance like we had,” he said.

He also led an Illinois defense that ranks in the top-10 nationally in total defense, passing defense, sacks and tackles for loss.

Gilmore wished Mercilus luck as he makes his exit.

“Whitney had an incredibly productive season and is a great role model for our other players in doing things the right way and putting in the extra effort,” Gilmore said in a statement. “The entire Fighting Illini family wishes him nothing but the best as he moves on to the NFL.”