| No. 80, 89, 86 | |||||||||
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| Position | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1964-04-09)April 9, 1964 (age 61) Landstuhl, Germany | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 258 lb (117 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Valley(Sacramento, California) | ||||||||
| College | Nevada San Diego St. | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1987: 3rd round, 62nd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Robert Mitchell Awalt (born April 9, 1964) is a German-American former professionalfootballtight end in theNational Football League (NFL) for theSt. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals,Dallas Cowboys, andBuffalo Bills. He playedcollege football atSan Diego State University.
Born inLandstuhl, Germany, he attendedValley High School inSacramento, California, where he played as aquarterback. A coach failed him in physical education, preventing him from playing football one season.
Awalt accepted a football scholarship from theUniversity of Nevada and spent one season as aredshirtquarterback. As a sophomore, he transferred toSacramento City College and was converted to atight end.
As a junior, he transferred toSan Diego State University, where he posted 15 receptions for 181 yards and 2touchdowns. That season, he was affected withthoracic 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 (tenth in the conference) for 541 yards and 2touchdowns.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 239 lb (108 kg) | 30+3⁄4 in (0.78 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 4.86 s | 1.68 s | 2.77 s | 4.45 s | 28.0 in (0.71 m) |
Awalt was selected by theSt. Louis Cardinals in the third round (62nd overall) of the1987 NFL draft.[1] Although he entered his rookie season as a backup, starterJay 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 byJackie 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 (Gern Nagler). He also had 9 starts, 526 receiving yards (second on the team) and 6 receiving touchdowns receptions (tying the franchise record for rookies). He was voted rookie of the year by theUPI andSporting News.
In1988, he passed Novacek on the depth chart and became the starter attight end (15 starts). Although he tore two ligaments in his left ankle during October, he didn't miss any games.[2] He finished third on the team with 39 receptions for 454 and 4 receivingtouchdowns.
In1989, withGary Hogeboom instead ofNeil Lomax as the team's startingquarterback, his production fell to 33 receptions for 360 yards and no touchdowns.
In1990,Joe Bugel was hired as the newhead coach and after Awalt missed three preseason games with a hyperextended right knee, he was surprisingly traded to theDallas Cowboys in exchange for an eighth round pick (#209-Scott Evans) on August 29.[3]
In1990, theDallas Cowboys acquired Awalt looking for him to recover his previous form and compete with Novacek (who was acquired inPlan B free agency) for the startingtight 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.
On April 1,1992, he signed inPlan B free agency with theDenver Broncos.[4] He was waived on August 31, after falling behind intraining camp toClarence Kay,Reggie Johnson andShannon Sharpe.[5]
On September 8,1992, he was signed as afree agent by theBuffalo Bills to replace an injuredKeith McKeller.[6] He was mainly used onspecial teams and faced the Cowboys inSuper Bowl XXVIII.[7] On December 30,1993, he was placed on theinjured reserve list with arotator cuff injury.[8]