While Whitney Mercilus recovered from nearly dropping out of Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft, A.J. Jenkins was busy getting ambushed in the bathroom by his cousins.

“It just caught me off guard,” Jenkins said Friday over a teleconference. “My cousin ran the phone to the door. It was just crazy. It was a blessing.”

The Houston Texans drafted Mercilus — last season’s Ted Hendricks Award winner as the best defensive end in the country — with the 26th pick in Thursday’s draft. Former Illinois wide receiver Jenkins — a 2011 First-Team All-Big Ten Conference selection and semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award — was the San Francisco 49ers’ selection with the 30th pick.

Mercilus watched the Draft from his home in Akron, Ohio, while Jenkins hosted friends and family at his Florida residence.

After it appeared that no Illinois football player would be drafted in the first round, the two were swept off the board within five picks of each other. A slew of mock drafts leading up to Thursday projected Mercilus to go in the late teens to early 20s. Jenkins was expected by many to go in the second round at the earliest.

“I didn’t think I would drop that far,” said Mercilus, who said he started getting nervous when the Chicago Bears opted to go with former Boise State defensive end Shea McClellin instead of him with the No. 19 pick.

Jenkins said his agent told him that he could possibly get drafted late in the first round, but he wasn’t reassured until he received the phone call.

“I was just watching the Draft like any typical dude would,” Jenkins said. “I saw the San Jose area code and new it would be San Francisco.”

Of the 10 schools with at least two players selected in the first round, Illinois was the only program other than Notre Dame to not finish in the AP Top 25. The Indianapolis Colts selected Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 overall pick. Alabama, the 2011 national champions, led all schools with four players selected in the first round.

Two Illini hadn’t been selected in the first round of an NFL Draft since 1996, when Jacksonville and Arizona selected Kevin Hardy and Simeon Rice, respectively. Illinois now leads the Big Ten with five first round picks in the last five years, followed by Ohio State with four.

“Illinois always has talent. It’s just going to keep on coming,” Mercilus said. “Definitely look for the same thing next year.”

Mercilus joins a Houston defense that in 2011 ranked fourth in points allowed per game (17.4), second in yards allowed per game (285.7), third in pass yards allowed per game (189.7), fourth in rushing yards allowed per game (96.0) and sixth in sacks (44).

His addition to the Texans defensive line should help fill the void left by former No. 1 overall pick Mario Williams’ departure to Buffalo during free agency.

Mercilus said he had “big shoes to fill” when asked about the absence of Williams. “Thing is that it’s a matter of working really hard and proving your worth,” he added.

San Francisco’s selection of Jenkins adds to its receiving corp of Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree and tight end Vernon Davis. The 49ers ranked 30th in 2011 in total passing yards with 3,193. San Francisco’s passing attack was one of the few anemic aspects on a 49ers team that nearly made the Super Bowl last season.

“I get to learn from all them guys,” Jenkins said. “For me, it’s a great match. I get to learn from one of the best wide receivers in the league.”

Both players acknowledged appreciation of getting drafted in the first round, as neither were highly regarded NFL prospects entering Illinois.

“It’s amazing,” Mercilus said. “It’s a feat that I didn’t really think about back in the day. I was just looking to get a scholarship at any college playing ball. … (I was) just putting my all into everything I do. It paid off in 2011, and now I’m here with the Houston Texans.”

_Editor’s note: In an earlier version of this article, it was stated that Illinois was the only school other than Alabama and Stanford to have two players picked in the first round, when in fact 10 schools had at least two players selected in the first round. The Daily Illini regrets this error._