Born in Landstuhl, Germany, he attended Valley High School, where he played as a quarterback. A coach failed him in physical education, preventing him from playing football one season. Awalt accepted a football scholarship from the University of Nevada and spent one season as a redshirt quarterback. As a sophomore, he transferred to Sacramento City College and was converted into a tight end. As a junior, he transferred to San Diego State University, where he posted 15 receptions for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns. That season, he was affected with thoracic outlet syndrome, the neurovascular problem was corrected by removing a rib and rerouting an artery and nerve. In his last year, he led the team with 45 receptions for 541 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Professional career
St. Louis / Phoenix Cardinals
Awalt was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round of the 1987 NFL draft. Although he entered his rookie season as a backup, starter Jay Novacek suffered a fractured right elbow which allowed him to be promoted mid-way through the season. He would end up having a year to remember, registering 9 receptions in each of the first two games after replacing Novacek and tying a franchise single-game record held by Jackie Smith. He finished with 42 receptions which was good for second among NFC tight ends and fell one short of the franchise record for receptions in a season for a rookie. He also had 9 starts, 526 receiving yards and 6 receiving touchdowns receptions. He was voted rookie of the year by the UPI and Sporting News. In 1988, he passed Novacek on the depth chart and became the starter at tight end. Although he tore two ligaments in his left ankle during October, he didn't miss any games. He finished third on the team with 39 receptions for 454 and 4 receiving touchdowns. In 1989, with Gary Hogeboom instead of Neil Lomax as the team's starting quarterback, his production fell to 33 receptions for 360 yards and no touchdowns. In 1990, Joe Bugel was hired as the new head coach and after Awalt missed three preseason games with a hyperextended right knee, he was surprisingly traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for an eighth round pick on August 29.
Dallas Cowboys
In 1990, the Dallas Cowboys acquired Awalt looking for him to recover his previous form and compete with Novacek for the starting tight end job. He would end up having only 13 receptions for 133 yards, falling behind Novacek and missing the last 3 games because of a back injury. The next year, his production fell to 5 receptions for 57 yards, but he was still being used in two-tight end sets.
