ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Oklahoma State doesn't have as much football history as some Big 12 schools, but the Cowboys still have several worthy candidates who belong on the school's version of Mount Rushmore for Cowboy football greats.

And I didn't consider T. Boone Pickens, despite his megabuck support for the school over the years, limiting inclusion to players and coaches.

Here are my four picks:  

• Barry Sanders -- A starter for only the 1988 season, but what a season it was. Sanders averaged 7.6 yards per carry and rushed for a then-college football record 2,628 rushing yards and 37 touchdowns, capping the season with the Heisman Trophy.
• Thurman Thomas -- A two-time All-American tailback who left school with a record 4,595 rushing yards.
• Bob Fenimore -- The legendary "Blonde Bomber" was Oklahoma State's first two-time All-American. He led the nation in rushing with 1,048 yards in 1945, finishing third in Heisman balloting.
• Mike Gundy -- Four-season starter at quarterback from 1986-89 who became the career passing leader in Oklahoma State and Big 12 history when he left school. And his coaching has been noteworthy -- even with the controversy -- after three straight bowl trips and a chance for perhaps the school's most notable season in 2009.

There could have been a space on Oklahoma State's Mount Rushmore for Terry Miller, Dez Bryant, Tatum Bell, Jon Kolb or Leslie O'Neal. But in the end, I could pick only four.

And the four selected, I think, best represent the school.