Friday Night Lights has a new recruit in Aaron Garza, a former Texas high school football star and current minor league baseball player scheduled to appear on the critically acclaimed NBC drama next month, BuddyTV reports.

Garza is making good on his promise to venture into acting in the event a career in baseball fails to pan out. The Traverse City Beach Bums player will make his Friday Night Lights debut on December 7 in the role of the defensive captain for the Dillon Panthers' latest opponents on the gridiron.

Aaron Garza signed with the Traverse City Beach Bums in the middle of last summer, after completing his senior season at Texas State University. Garza hit .341 with 15 doubles and 5 home runs as a senior at Texas State.

Before he wowed audiences with his batting skills, Garza lived his own version of the Friday Night Lights lifestyle as an All-District and All-Central wide receiver for Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, where the series is filmed.

He has also appeared in several national TV commercials for Wal-Mart, Captain Crunch, Radio Shack and Budweiser, among others. He has also modeled for Saks Fifth Avenue and Texas Monthly Magazine of late.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.