He attended Charlotte High School in Punta Gorda, Florida,[1] where he first drew recognition as an all-state tight end for the Charlotte Fighting Tarpons high school football team.
[4] He was a three-year starter, a second-team All-Southeastern conference (SEC) selection in 1973 and 1974, and a first-team All-American during his senior season in 1974.
[5][6] In one of a series of articles published by The Gainesville Sun in 2006, he was recognized as one of the top 100 Gators (No.
[7] Mitch Hoopes and he were the only rookies to earn starting jobs, with Lawless replacing the traded John Niland at left guard and becoming the first-team rookie to start in the offensive line (including Super Bowl X) since 1965.
On November 17, he was signed by the Miami Dolphins to be a backup behind Bob Kuechenberg for the last five games of the 1981 season.
[10] During his seven-season NFL career, Lawless played in eighty-two games, and started in twenty-three of them.
Lawless attended the Cowboys alumni reunion and closing ceremony at Texas Stadium in Dallas on December 20, 2008.