Barton was born on June 1, 2002, in Brentwood, Tennessee, and attended Ravenwood High School.[1] His parents are Philip and Heather Barton. Graham also has one sibling, Anna Barton. Considered a three-star recruit by the 247Sports rankings, Barton was listed as the No. 14 offensive guard in 2020, and the No. 10 prospect in the state of Tennessee. He committed to play college football at Duke over offers from Michigan State and Vanderbilt.[2][3]
College career
Barton first saw playing time during his freshman season at Duke after both the first and second string centers suffered season-ending injuries.[4] He started the Blue Devils' final five games of the season and was named a second team Freshman All-America by The Athletic.[5] Barton was named Duke's starting left tackle entering his sophomore season.[6] He was named first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) as a junior.[7][8]