Tony Boselli's relationship with Mark Brunell goes beyond former Jaguars teammates

Former Jacksonville Jaguar great Tony Boselli already envisions his moment when he walks across the stage as he gets inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A crowd of teal and black will pack Tom Benson Stadium with his wife, Angi, and their five children watching from the crowd. Yet, his enshrinement is not fully complete without his best friend there. His best friend happens to be his ex-teammate and former quarterback, Mark Brunell.

Brunell will serve as Boselli's presenter during the enshrinement. His relationship with Brunell goes far beyond helping protect the left-handed quarterback as a three-time first-team All-Pro left tackle. Not only did they play together for seven seasons in Jacksonville, but they raised their children together, coached high school football together, and were even business partners in owning a chain of Whataburger in the Jacksonville area.

He expressed his friendship with Brunell in a brief verse in the Book of Proverbs, in which a certain friend can be closer than your brothers.

Brunell is the quarterbacks coach for the Detroit Lions. Once Boselli found out the good news, he alerted Brunell to take a few days off in Detroit so he can make the trip to Canton with him for the weekend.

"I have a handful of people in my life that aren't family that are closer, closer than family, and Mark is one of them," Boselli said.

The expansion Jaguars made Boselli their first-ever draft pick in the 1995 NFL Draft.. He made an immediate impact as a five-time Pro Bowler at left tackle. Brunell, who was drafted by Green Bay in the fifth round in 1993, was traded to Jaguars a day before Boselli was selected.

Both were inseparable throughout their time as a Jaguar. While Brunell was a lefty and depended on his right tackle to protect his blindside, it didn’t change Boselli’s train of thought in his pass blocking, especially knowing the mobile Brunell would not stay in the pocket for very long.

“I actually thought it was easier blocking for a right-handed quarterback because as a lefty Mark tended to drift a little bit to the left side and change the angles that I had,” Boselli said.

Tony Boselli an advocate for Tom Coughlin and Jags stars Fred Taylor, Jimmy Smith to be in Hall of Fame

Following their first season, the Jaguars became a playoff contender under Tom Coughlin for four consecutive seasons (1996-99) and won two division titles.

As Boselli goes down in history as the first Jaguar to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, he hopes he won’t be the last. Boselli gave high praises to Coughlin for being part of the Jags’ success and believes he should be in the Hall of Fame discussion.

“Tom had a method to his madness,” Boselli said. “He is one of the greatest coaches to coach the game. I don’t know when he is eligible for the Hall of Fame, but what he has done in the NFL is taken the most success from any head coach ever in the history of this league from expansion teams, and then taken the (New York) Giants to two Super Bowl victories, and one being (against) one of the best teams ever in the (previously unbeaten 2007) New England Patriots. He is a great football coach.”

It's not only Coughlin who Boselli thinks belongs in the Hall. He also mentions former Jaguar teammates such as Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith. With Jacksonville a small-market NFL organization with a lack of a long-term winning pedigree, Boselli said the former Jaguar greats are forgotten. He hopes the current team changes the culture, which perhaps leads to more Hall of Famers in the future.

“I hope they all get inducted, and I think, selfishly more than anything, we start playing good football in the Jacksonville organization," Boselli said. "Hopefully, 10, 15, 20 years from now, God willing, I’m still there when they ask me to go knock on the door for a Trevor Lawrence (the team's current QB) or something like that.”

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Mark Brunell will present Tony Boselli in Pro Football Hall of Fame