He played college football for the San Diego State Aztecs, twice earning all-conference honors in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

Born in Long Beach, California,[1] Durham grew up in Compton with three sisters and a brother, raised by their single mother, Mary.

"[2] Durham attended Bolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove,[3] starring in football, basketball and track.

[4] In February 1979, Durham committed to play college football for the San Diego State Aztecs under head coach Claude Gilbert.

[6] A starter in 1981 under new Aztecs head coach Doug Scovil,[7] Durham had seven catches for 77 yards and a touchdown in a week 2 win over Oklahoma State.

[17] Again named an AP honorable mention All-American,[18] Durham was also a first-team All-WAC selection and voted the Aztecs' most valuable player.

[20][21] Durham needed three catches in the season finale against Oklahoma State to pass Craig Scoggins (129) for third place,[a] but he exited the game in the first quarter after pulling a hamstring and did not return.

[1][25] He was active for their last three regular season games and their two playoff contests, serving as the 49ers' fifth wide receiver behind Dwight Clark, Freddie Solomon, Mike Wilson and Renaldo Nehemiah.

[1][24] In 1984, Durham was limited after a knee injury in training camp,[2][26][27] and San Francisco cut him during preseason to meet the NFL deadline to trim rosters to 70 players.