Walter attended Sheldon High School, where he focused on basketball, playing just one year of football.
Walter attended the University of Oregon where he was used as a linebacker, before being moved to defensive end as a sophomore.
[3] Walter was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round (50th overall) of the 1983 NFL draft, with the intention of converting him into an outside linebacker.
[6] On August 28, 1984, he was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco 49ers who moved him to inside linebacker, as the backup of Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds.
Walter wasn't re-signed for the 1994 season and was replaced by free agent Ken Norton Jr.