He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils, and earned consensus All-American honors.
Shortly after Juan's birth, Armando and Maria moved to the Roques' native Mexico, living in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz.
[3] Coming out of high school, Roque was recruited by numerous colleges;[4] these included USC and Washington State.
[8] By his sophomore season, 1994, Roque had gained a starting spot for Arizona State at left guard.
[16] Arizona State won the Pacific-10 Conference championship for the second time in school history and earned a Rose Bowl berth with a 35–7 victory against California.
[19] After the college season ended, Roque was invited to participate in the 1997 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana, and did so.
[22] Roque did not play in 1998 as he spent the entire year on injured reserve due to lingering effects from the knee injury.
Listed as a defensive lineman, Roque played in seven games for the Argonauts in the 2002 CFL season before the team released him.