CANTON, Ohio — Art Monk and Gary Zimmerman spent most of their careers trying to stay in the background.

Good luck tomorrow when they're the feature attraction in Canton, Ohio.

The two quietest members of the six-man 2008 Pro Football Hall of Fame class are making a one-time exception to their self-imposed rule with induction speeches that will not be short on words — or perhaps tears.

"It's OK, it's kind of like a game," Monk said before Friday's news conference with the six inductees. "You get some butterflies, but once you take that first hit, you're ready to go."

Both have warmed to this weekend's public speaking engagement, given the circumstances.

Zimmerman is the 12th Hall-of-Famer to play exclusively at offensive tackle, and it took Monk, who retired as the NFL's career receiving leader with 940 receptions, eight years to reserve his spot alongside the league's greatest players.

Some suggest the wait may have taken longer for these two because they rarely drew attention to themselves, preferring instead to let their performances speak volumes.

"I was always a shy and reserved person who just wanted to work hard and stay in the background," Monk said. "There's no need to talk when you're a good athlete."

Zimmerman stopped doing interviews for another reason.

He said Friday that while he was playing in Minnesota, he told a reporter that the Vikings lost because neither the offense or defense played well enough to win. When he woke up the next morning, a headline implied Zimmerman had criticized the defense.

"Half of my teammates were mad at me, so I said it's better not to say anything," he said.

He took the same approach to Denver where he protected John Elway's blindside for five seasons and helped initiate the Broncos' tradition of offensive linemen not doing media interviews.

Despite their reticence to speak while playing, neither is reluctant now.

Zimmerman has spent two weeks editing his remarks, while Monk spent the last two weeks crafting his own speech.

So what fans will get Saturday is a rare opportunity to see both of them talk, back-to-back.

"He may not like it (public speaking) so much, but he is really good at it," said James Monk, Art's son who will introduce his father for induction. "He has good things to say and people want to hear what he has to say."

Aside from Darrell Green, Monk's teammate in Washington, this may be the most reserved Hall-of-Fame class in years.

There's no big-name quarterback, no major controversies and little outspokenness in the group.

Fred Dean, the fierce pass rusher from San Diego and San Francisco, opened his remarks Friday with a simple thank you: "All I can say is that I am glad to be here and it's really a privilege."

New England linebacker Andre Tippett acknowledged it would be difficult for him to keep his emotions in check Saturday.

Emmitt Thomas, Kansas City's career record-holder with 58 interceptions, didn't even participate in this year's conference call after waiting decades to earn a spot alongside former coach Hank Stram and ex-teammates such as Len Dawson, Buck Buchanan and Bobby Bell.

Yet it was Thomas' communication skills that former Washington coach Joe Gibbs said were his trademark.

"One of the rare qualities you seen in a coach is to be able to relate to players as they see things their way," Gibbs said. "Emmitt could get to their level. He was very good communicating with them."

Green, of course, is the exception.

Gregarious and funny, he spent 20 years covering receivers and never missed a chance to speak his mind — even if it meant privately critiquing Gibbs.

"He was one of the few players I had who, once in a while, would point out things I was doing wrong," said Gibbs, a 1996 inductee.

So if any speech is going to draw as much laughter as Terry Bradshaw's memorable one in 1989, it's likely to come from Green, the only member of the class chosen in his first year of eligibility and the oldest cornerback (42) in league history when he retired in 2002.

The comedy routine began a day early when Green playfully chided Thomas for eyeballing him as he stepped to the podium and then suggested he might make his own comeback by following Gibbs' lead. Gibbs returned to coach the Redskins a second time in 2004 after initially retiring in 1992.

"First of all, I was surprised coach Gibbs came back and after Saturday, I'm going to do the same," Green said. "If a coach can come back and coach, I should be able to come back and play."

Three of the inductees will be introduced by their sons — Monk, Green and Thomas, all of whom were with the Redskins during their great run in the 1980s and early 1990s. The other three inductees will be introduced by team owners — Dean selected former San Francisco owner Eddie DeBartolo, Zimmerman chose Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and Tippett went with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, whom he now works for.

"He (Kraft) has never gotten a chance to enshrine someone in Canton, and I think it may not be too long before he gets a chance to come to Canton and be inducted as a contributor," Tippett said. "I thought it would be good for him to come here and do some work."

The rest of the work is up to the speechwriters, who would prefer a lower-profile role anytime except Saturday.

"It's kind of like a wedding, where you're engaged before the wedding and then as the wedding day approaches, you realize it's a reality," Monk said. "I'm more nervous today because of the magnitude, although my wedding was great — let me just make that clear. I think the magnitude of this is much grander."