Graham was born on November 8, 1972, in
Bronx, New York. He attended
Spring Valley High School before playing
college football at the
University of New Haven. He gained 389 yards his senior season of high school as a fullback, and was recruited to New Haven as a
linebacker. He convinced the team to put him at tailback, and made an immediate impact when started, setting the all-time school record for single-game rushing yards, with 262 in a 30–31 loss vs. . A week later, he earned rookie of the week honors after a 251-yard performance against in a 60–64 loss. He split time as tailback in his freshman season, but still managed to rack up 942 yards, a school record at the time. He also scored eight touchdowns on 161 rushes, achieving 5.9 yards per carry. Graham earned an increased role in his sophomore year, and broke the single-season New Haven record for rushing yards.
Sports Illustrated named him player of the week after he recorded 298 rushing yards and five touchdowns (90, 61, 46, 46, 4) on 18 carries, with an average of over 16 per carry. By September 12 he averaged over 210 yards rushing per game, leading the NCAA Division II. He had 200 yards and two touchdowns in an 80–26 victory over on September 26. His coach,
Mark Whipple, commented, "We want to put the football in Roger's hands 20 times a game. He is a game breaker. People bounce off him and then he has the speed to outrun other players. He's a combination of speed and power." He also called Graham "the most talented back I've ever been around in coaching." By his fifteenth overall appearance, Graham averaged over 120 yards rushing per game. In the game he became the first New Haven player to top 1,000 single-season yards, as well as the 20th New England player to reach 2,000+ total career yards. He would finish the season with 1,717 rushing yards, helping New Haven make the playoffs and break the record previously set by him in the last year by 775. He finished third in Division II scoring with 22 touchdowns. In his junior season, Graham would rack up over 1,600 yards, being rated one of the county's top running backs. In the third game of the season, against Clarion, Graham recorded 223 rushing yards on 21 carries, averaging over 10 yards per and helping New Haven rank 3rd nationally. On each of New Haven's scoring drives in the 35–23 victory, Graham made an important contribution. In the first, he made a 32–yard rush, setting up his one-yard rushing score; in the second, he scored his first career receiving touchdown, from 19 yards out, thrown by Jim Weir; over 60 of the yards gained in their third drive were gained by Graham; he ran for 52 yards in the fourth, later scoring on a one-yard rush; he also scored the touchdown in their fifth and final score, on a 2–yard rush set up by his 14–yard run. Graham finished the year with 21 consecutive 100+ yard games. On ceremonies held on December 10, 1993, Graham was awarded the
Harlon Hill Trophy, given to the best player in Division II, after beating out finalists Tyrone Rush and Jamie Pass. He became the first and only New Haven winner, following a season that included 1,687 rush yards, an average of 13.6 points scored per game, and an average of 9.2 yards per carry. Following his award-winning junior season, Connecticut governor
Lowell Weicker declared February 2, 1994, "Roger Graham Day". His hometown of
Spring Valley, New York did the same on June 1. An Indiana coach commented on Graham, "There is the run-and-shoot and then there is the run-and-shoot with Roger Graham ... Graham is certainly outstanding." When the New Haven Chargers played Indiana, ranked no. 2 nationally, they won on a late field goal at the end of the fourth quarter. Graham played an important role in the game, which had the biggest attendance in school history. By October 27, Graham trailed only
Walter Payton, one of his favorite players, as all-time Division II scorer. "I had a video of Payton that I watched all the time when I came to New Haven," he said. He had rushed for 1,197 yards and 15 touchdowns by that point. He finished no. 1 in the state of Connecticut for rushes, yards, touchdowns and yards per game (160.7). ==Professional career==