Raymond E. Graham (born September 18, 1990) is a former
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
. He played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
Pittsburgh Panthers
The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Rivals.com'', he was rated as the 11th all-purpose back in the nation. He accepted a scholarship from
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
over offers from
Rutgers
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...
and
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
.
College career
As a freshman in 2009, he gained 349 yards, including a 53-yard run against Notre Dame. The ''USA Today'' reported that "Graham ran through half of the Notre Dame defense on a 53-yard run that led to his 2-yard score one play later."
As a sophomore in 2010, Graham rushed for 922 yard and averaged 6.2 yards per carry. On October 2, 2010, he had a career-high 277 rushing yards against FIU. His total against FIU was the second-highest in Pitt football history, trailing only
Tony Dorsett
Anthony Drew Dorsett Sr. (born April 7, 1954) is an American former professional American football, football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos.
Raised in western Pennsylvani ...
's 303-yard game against Notre Dame in 1975.
Through seven games of the 2011 season, Graham led the nation in rushing yards with 945 yards and nine touchdowns on 162 carries. He also has 200 receiving yards on 20 receptions. However, his season came to an abrupt end after he sustained a torn right ACL against
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
in the second quarter on October 26, 2011.
Graham returned from his injury in 2012, gaining 1,042 rushing yards on 222 carries, with 11 touchdowns, along with 340 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions. Graham put up a personal best for 2012 against National Championship contenders Notre Dame. He recorded 172 yards on 24 attempts averaging 7.2 yards a carry, and 1 touchdown. His efforts helped the Panthers take the game into three overtimes only to come up a field goal shy of a victory.
Professional career
After not being selected in the
2013 NFL draft
The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...
, Graham signed with the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
on April 27, 2013 as an undrafted
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
. He was released on August 26, 2013 and was subsequently signed to the practice squad by the Steelers on November 19, 2013. On December 25, 2013, the Houston Texans signed him to their 53-man roster. Graham was subsequently cut after training camp in 2014.
Personal life
Graham is the brother of
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...