Oklahoma State Cowboys Football: The 5 Most Underappreciated Players Ever

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The history of Oklahoma State football is a storied one, but it has many players that don't get their due.

Guys like Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas and Kevin Williams were stars at the collegiate and professional level. They are considered some of the best football players, not just in Cowboy history, but of all time.

This slideshow is for the guys who have gone under-appreciated in the annals of Oklahoma State football.

D'Juan Woods

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Overshadowed by his older brother Rashaun Woods, who was an All-American receiver at Oklahoma State, D'Juan Woods also did great things for the Cowboys.

The younger Woods made All-Big 12 two out of his four years at Oklahoma State and caught 161 passes for 2,695 yards and 20 touchdowns. Not a bad career for a guy who is seldom talked-about these days.

Woods played during the transition between Les Miles and Mike Gundy, and is a big part of why the Cowboy program was able to become as good as it is now.

Josh Fields

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The career of Josh Fields at Oklahoma State began in 2001, when he was inserted into a game against archrival Oklahoma as a true freshman. It was clear Fields was the man for the job, especially after he led a 3-7 Cowboy team to upset a Top 5-ranked Oklahoma team.

Fields went on to throw for 6,090 yards and 55 touchdowns over his career, which only lasted a bit over two seasons. His significance as one of the building blocks of the current Cowboy program can't be denied.

He left school early after the 2003 season to pursue a career in Major League Baseball.

Donovan Woods

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There is a third Woods brother, and he is on this list.

Donovan Woods was the youngest of the Woods brothers, and came in to play quarterback for the Cowboys as a freshman. He passed for 1,628 yards and 13 touchdowns in his first season.

After the first game of his sophomore year, he was demoted to a backup role and eventually started on the defense. Woods became a difference maker on that side of the ball, amassing 175 total tackles and five interceptions during the remainder of his college career.

Woods' willingness to help his team in any way he could, even if it wasn't at his preferred position, makes him one of the greatest, most selfless Cowboys of all time.

Mike Gundy

Mike Gundy isn't just a great coach.

Playing for Midwest City High School, Mike Gundy was the 1986 High School Football Player of the Year and was heavily recruited by the Oklahoma Sooners. Gundy went with Oklahoma State, and became the starter at quarterback halfway through his freshman season.

He started all four seasons at Oklahoma State, and won 30 games, including going 20-4 during his sophomore and freshman seasons. Gundy became the all-time passing leader in Big 8 history and threw for 7,997 yards and 49 touchdowns.

It is regularly mentioned that Gundy played at Oklahoma State, but the caliber of player that he was gets overlooked too often.

Bob Fenimore

Bob Fenimore is under-appreciated because he played in the 1940s. But don't count him out just because of that.

Fenimore was a two-time All-American halfback at Oklahoma State (then Oklahoma A&M), who finished third in Heisman voting in 1945. He also led the nation in total offense in 1944 and 1945.

The Hall of Famer also holds the career interception record at Oklahoma State with 18, and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1947 NFL Draft. (He retired a year later because he could make more money selling insurance in Stillwater.)