According to Tony Pauline, USC defensive end Nick Perry has signed with an agent and will enter himself into the 2012 NFL Draft.

Perry had a nice junior season with 55 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 9.5 sacks as one of the top young players on the Trojans’ defense. He has good size at 6’3″ 250 pounds and could be a candidate to play in either a 3-4 or a 4-3 defensive scheme.

NFL Mocks staff writer Reggie McColgan wrote up a full report on Perry earlier this season, and it includes analysis from Nick Castillo as well. Perry is the first USC player to declare his intent for the 2012 NFL Draft, but likely won’t be the last.

Here is a list of all players that have declared their intent for the 2012 NFL Draft.