Michigan State All-American defensive tackle Jerel Worthy is heading to the NFL.

According to Draftheadquarters.com’s Shawn Zobel, Worthy has hired an agent in time for the January 15th deadline in which underclassmen must declare themselves eligible for the NFL draft.

Heading into the Outback Bowl this past Monday, Worthy said he was 50-50 on coming back to the Spartans for his senior season and that he would wait till after the bowl game to make a decision.

Mel Kiper of ESPN has ranked Worthy the 22nd best player heading into April’s draft while CBSSports.com ranks Worthy the 19th best player overall and the 4th best defensive tackle in the nation.

“If a guy’s a No. 1 draft pick, then I think he should probably go,” Dantonio said. “There’s not many professions where you can earn $10 million in a year. You have to give him the opportunity to do that.”

Ref: Mlive.com, Draftheadquarters.com, Getty (image)