On the eve of the New England Patriots’ sixth Super Bowl win, a key member of the franchise’s first three title game victories was announced as a member of the 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame class: Ty Law will receive his gold jacket on August 3 and officially join the ranks of the greatest to have ever played the game. When Law’s time to step on stage comes, his “best friend in the world” will be there to present him.

As Law told ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss, his longtime friend Byron ‘Book’ Washington will be his presenter during the ceremony — an easy choice for the 45-year-old who spent the first ten seasons of his fifteen-year career with the Patriots: “[He’s] like a biological twin brother, from when we were one year old. [...] It’s like we share the same blood because we share the same thoughts.”

The friendship between Law and Washington can be traced back to their hometown of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania where they lived in the same street and played together on a local youth football team. “We grew up across the street from one another,” said Law. “Any experience that I had, closer to anyone in my life, he knows everything — all the good, where all the bones are buried. That’s my guy through thick and thin.”

Washington, who actually located to Ann Arbor just to move in with Law during his final year at the University of Michigan, will now have the honor of presenting his friend on one of the biggest stages in the sport. “If my grandfather was alive and here, it would be a no-brainer, as far as the impact in my life,” said Law. “But I couldn’t think of anyone else who knows me like Byron does.”