It’s finally official — Mississippi State middle linebacker Benardrick McKinney will forgo his final season of college eligibility and enter the NFL Draft.

Yahoo! Sports NFL insider Rand Getlin was the first to confirm the news via Twitter on Thursday morning.

It was widely assumed entering the 2014 season that it would be McKinney’s last as a Bulldog. ESPN NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. evaluated McKinney as his No. 1 middle linebacker prospect when the season began, and by the end of the regular season he cracked Kiper’s list of the top 25 draft-eligible players at any position.

CBS Sports lists McKinney as its No. 1 inside linebacker prospect and its No. 24 overall prospect in the 2015 draft class, slotting him as a likely first round pick come April 30.

McKinney led his 10-win Mississippi State squad with 71 tackles in 2014, adding 8.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, four pass breakups and a forced fumble. He was a first-team All-SEC selection by the league’s coaches and a second-team selection by the media.

The junior linebacker now joins tailback Josh Robinson as the Mississippi State stars who have chosen to leave school early for the NFL. The Bulldogs will await an announcement from one more valuable underclassmen  — quarterback Dak Prescot — who has until Jan. 15 to declare for the draft.