Record Book Look: Oklahoma State’s Career Rushing Yards List

Now more than ever, durability is a heralded running back trait, and today we’ll take a look at Cowboy ball carriers who ran the farthest.

Chuba Hubbard has a chance to knock Barry Sanders out of Oklahoma State’s top five career rushing yards list this upcoming season, something that would truly be crazy.

Here are the five players with the most rushing yards in OSU’s history.

1. Thurman Thomas (1984-87) — 5,001

A Pro Football Hall of Famer, Thurman Thomas was a four-year workhorse in OSU’s backfield.

Thomas surpassed the century mark in rushing as a sophomore and again as a senior. As a senior in 1987, Thomas ran for a career-best 1,767 yards. That’s the fifth best rushing season in program history.

His career game came against Iowa State as a senior when Thomas ran for 293 yards in a 48-27 win against the Cyclones.

Thomas had 989 carries in his college career, the most in program history. His 47 rushing touchdowns are the third most in OSU’s history.

The Buffalo Bills took Thomas in the second round of the 1988 NFL Draft. He ran for 12,074 yards and 65 touchdowns in his 13-year NFL career.

2. Terry Miller (1974-77) — 4,754

Terry Miller is the only Cowboy to ever run for 1,000 yards in three seasons.

As a junior in 1976, Miller ran for 1,887 yards, the third most in a season in program history.

Miller scored 49 rushing touchdowns as a Cowboy, second to only Barry Sanders.

Miller was the No. 5 pick in the 1978 NFL Draft to the Buffalo Bills. In a four-year NFL career, Miller ran for 1,583 yards and eight scores.

3. David Thompson (1993-96) — 4,318

David Thompson surpassed the 1,500-yard mark as a junior and as a senior.

He ran for 1,524 yards as a senior highlighted by his 321-yard outing in OSU’s 37-17 victory against Baylor that year. That’s the second-most rushing yards anyone has had in a game in OSU history.

4. Kendall Hunter (2007-10) — 4,181

Kendall Hunter is the only player on this list who played this century.

Hunter ran for 1,500 yards as a sophomore and senior and still made it to this list despite playing in just eight games as a junior because of injury.

His most yards came in his sophomore season when he ran for 1,555 and had 16 rushing touchdowns.

His career game game against Washington State as senior. He ran for 257 yards in that 65-17 OSU victory.

The San Francisco 49ers took Hunter in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Hunter played in 45 NFL games where he ran for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns.

5. Barry Sanders (1986-88) — 3,797

Everyone knows the story of how Barry Sanders sat behind Thurman Thomas for most of his time in Stillwater, but all Sanders needed to get on this list was his one, record-setting senior season.

OSU’s lone Heisman Trophy winner ran for 2,850 yards in 1988, an NCAA record.

Despite being fifth in yards in program history, Sanders is actually ninth in rushing attempts. His 6.8 yards per carry is the best in program history (with at least 200 attempts), and second place isn’t even above six yards a pop.

Sanders ran for 300 yards on four occasions with his best being against Texas Tech in Tokyo in 1988.

The Detroit Lions took Sanders third in the 1989 NFL Draft. He was a Pro Bowl selection in all 10 of his seasons as a professional. In 153 NFL games Sanders ran for 15,269 yards and 99 touchdowns.