When the New York Jets added Alabama’s Marty Lyons with the 14th choice in the 1979 NFL Draft, he joined a defensive line that included Joe Klecko.

For the next nine seasons, they lined up together and helped form the New York Sack Exchange, as the Jets’ defensive front four came to be called, with Klecko leading the NFL with 20.5 sacks in 1981.

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On Aug. 5, Klecko will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2023, and Lyons will be with him again. Lyons will present Klecko for enshrinement at the ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday.

“We spent a lot of years together,” Klecko said, “and I knew there’d be no better person to talk about my career or to put me through to the enshrinement than him.”

The Class of 2023 also includes DeMarcus Ware, an Auburn High School and Troy alumnus.

The rest of the Class of 2023 includes Ronde Barber, Don Coryell, Chuck Howley, Darrelle Revis, Ken Riley, Joe Thomas and Zach Thomas.

Lyons is also a Hall of Famer – the College Football Hall of Fame. A defensive tackle for Alabama from 1975 through 1978, Lyons joined the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

His play during his 11 seasons with New York secured his place in the Jets’ Ring of Honor. Lyons also won the NFL Man of the Year Award for 1984, two years after he started the Marty Lyons Foundation.

The goal of the organization is to make critically ill children feel as special as Lyons felt playing for the Jets. Since its start, the foundation has expanded to 11 chapters covering 14 states and has granted the wishes of more than 8,200 youngsters.

Lyons also serves as an analyst on the radio broadcasts of Jets’ games.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.