TEMPE, Ariz. -- Minutes after receiving the inaugural Ted Hendricks Award as the nation's best defensive end, Terrell Suggs announced that he was leaving Arizona State for the NFL draft.

Wide receiver Shaun McDonald also opted to turn pro, disclosing his intentions at a joint news conference Thursday.

"It's an opportunity right now that I just can't let pass,'' Suggs said. "My mom made a brilliant point about, it'd be kind of hard to come back and do it again. You only can play football for so long before your body takes a beating. I'd rather go right now. There's really nothing left for me to do in college football.''

Dirk Koetter, who coached the Sun Devils (8-6) to their best season since 1997 in his second year with the program, supported both players in their decision.

"We don't have any players on the team who don't have the dream of playing in the NFL,'' Koetter said. "The way the rules are, after a guy has completed three years of college, he has a chance to move on, and the NFL basically guarantees them where they're going to be picked.''

The coach and George Wynn, Arizona State's director of football operations, helped Suggs and McDonald petition the NFL after the regular season to get draft projections -- Suggs in the first round and McDonald in the second -- and counseled them about what they might be offered financially.

Suggs is the most decorated player in school history.

The Lombardi and Hendricks awards recipient is a first-team All-American and was selected as the Holiday Bowl MVP and the Pacific-10's Defensive Player of the Year.

He set an NCAA record with 24 sacks this season, the last two when the Sun Devils extended Kansas State before the Wildcats rallied for a 34-27 victory in the Holiday Bowl. He had a school-record 44 in his career.

The previous record in the two years the NCAA kept track of sacks was 17½ by Syracuse's Dwight Freeney. The only player with more in a season was Zeke Gadson of Pittsburgh, who had 24½ in 1987.

Suggs also had 31½ tackles for loss, an interception and forced five fumbles this year.

McDonald, Arizona State's other two-time all-conference selection, set school records with 87 catches for 1,405 yards. His 13 touchdown receptions were one off the school mark.

McDonald, who redshirted as a freshman, is on pace to graduate in May, and Suggs plans to finish his degree as well.

Some observers believe the 6-foot-3, 250-pound lineman may be switched to linebacker in the NFL, a path followed by former Arizona standout Tedy Bruschi of New England and Hendricks, a former University of Miami great who starred for the Baltimore Colts and Oakland Raiders.

McDonald, 5-9 and 170 pounds, is a cousin of Mike Bibby, point guard for the NBA's Sacramento Kings. His brother Tariq, also a former Arizona State star, signed with Cincinnati as a free agent in 2000 but never made the team.

"It's two different situations, two different people, two different athletes,'' Shaun said. "Nothing that happened to him in the past is going to affect me.''