TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State receiver Anquan Boldin will pass up his senior year to enter the NFL draft.

Seminoles junior linebacker Michael Boulware, meanwhile, has decided to stay for another season.

The 6-2, 226-pound Boldin said Wednesday he felt like it was time to move on.

``It came down to the pros and cons and what was the best decision for me,'' he said.

Boldin caught 62 passes for 977 yards and 12 touchdowns this past season. He also threw for one touchdown and caught a pass for another score during part of the team's Nokia Sugar Bowl loss to Georgia in New Orleans on Jan. 1.

He is the first Florida State underclassman to leave early for the NFL since the 1999 season, when kicker Sebastian Janikowski left following his junior year.

``He has been an inspiration for our football team,'' coach Bobby Bowden said. ``We will miss him, but that gives someone an opportunity to step in there.''

Boldin finished his career with 118 catches for 1,790 yards. His 21 career touchdown receptions is tied for seventh place with Jesse Hester in the school record book.

He missed the 2001 season after injuring his knee in fall drills.

Bowden, who also loses receivers Talman Gardner and Robert Morgan to graduation, will have to rebuild the receiving corps.

Sophomore Craphonso Thorpe is the most experienced of the returning receivers. He had 16 catches for 337 yards and three touchdowns and caught a 40-yard TD pass in the Sugar Bowl.

Boulware, who has not redshirted, was the team's second leading tackler but weighs just slightly more than 210 pounds and wants to either gain weight or play safety next season.

Boulware's older brother, Peter -- an All-American defensive end for the Seminoles in 1996 -- left school early. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens, where he has become one of the league's top defenders.