Hines Ward, former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, will be gracing The Walking Dead as a member of the undead in his television series debut.

In AMC’s The Walking Dead season return episode on Feb 10, we’ll be looking out for a special zombie to stagger across our screen as NFL star Hines Ward is donning a somewhat corpse-like attire.

Not his first television show appearance by any means, Ward was the winner of the 12th season of Dancing with the Stars with his partner Kym Johnson; the second football player to achieve the title. Ward also appeared in the latest Batman film The Dark Knight Rises when he was cast as a football player for Gotham’s fictional team, as shown here running back after the opening kick-off, as the football field disappears behind him, for a touchdown.

However, in this case it was less of what you know, and more who you know as Ward goes way back with IronE Singleton. Singleton (AKA, the much-loved T-Dog) unfortunately met his demise in episode four of the current season when he sacrificed himself so that Carol could survive. Lori also met her end in the episode aptly named “Killer Within.”

The pair met at the University of Georgia on academic and football scholarships. In an interview with Post-Gazette Hines is reported to have said:

“A former Georgia teammate of mine is one of the stars of the show, and my agent thought it would be something fun and different for me to do.”

So what did the NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcaster have to say about being ‘zombie-fied’?

“It was an amazing experience… Just being in makeup preparing me for my role was cool. I actually scared myself when I looked in the mirror for the first time after.”

We’ll be looking out for you in the season’s comeback Hines!

Don’t miss The Walking Dead‘s comeback episode on Feb 10, 9/8 ET/PT.