Former Massachusetts Maritime Academy quarterback Derek Gagnon says he’ll never forget the day in 1993 when teammate Nate Gravelle, a two-time All-ECAC selection at defensive tackle, joined him in the offensive huddle.

“How could I?’’ asked the 5-foot-8 Lowell native, who played at 185 pounds. “I mean, I was getting someone 6-foot-4 and someone weighing close to 250 pounds to protect me. And at my size, I’d take all the protection I could get.’’

So it’s fitting that Gagnon and Gravelle, who played at Newburyport High and a year at Ithaca College before transferring to Massachusetts Maritime, will be inducted together into the academy’s athletic hall of fame in early June.

Gagnon and Gravelle, who cocaptained the Mass. Maritime team and graduated in 1994, are two of five former athletes slated for enshrinement.

Until his senior year, Gravelle had played strictly on the defensive side of the ball, twice earning New England Football Conference and ECAC first team all-star selections.

But when the Bucs were short on numbers on the offensive line, coach Don Ruggeri called on Gravelle, who played both ways his final season.

Gravelle won the NEFC’s Hal Chalmers Award his senior year for his contributions on the field and in the classroom. He registered a career-high 73 tackles his junior season.

“Me in the hall of fame, it’s something I never gave a thought to,’’ said Gravelle, an aerospace engineer now living in Amesbury. “I was surprised when I got the call. I was curious, why me, so I asked [football coach Bob Corradi] when he called. He then went through the list of honors I had gained while playing and the different criteria. I guess I was a fit. It’s definitely an honor and a surprise.’’

Gravelle remembered Gagnon as “small in stature with a Doug Flutie-like style,’’ someone he was only too happy to protect from oncoming defensive linemen.

Gagnon’s school records have withstood the test of time. He stills owns a dozen, including pass attempts (906), completions (421), yards (4,471), touchdowns (35), and total offense (5,277 yards). He was an All-NEFC pick his junior and senior seasons.

“I knew I had set some records when I was playing, but wasn’t sure how many still stood,’’ said Gagnon, who works for a global defense company based in Nashua and resides in neighboring Pelham, N.H. “I was surprised that so many of them are still tops.’’

Like Gravelle, Gagnon said he was honored when he received word of his selection.

“I am humbled because I know this is an elite football program and there are so many fine athletes that have played in it,’’ he said. “When [Corradi] called me all I could say was I appreciate the opportunity and thank you.’’