It’s hard to underappreciate a 1,000-yard rusher. It’s even harder to underappreciate a three-time 1,000-yard rusher.

In fact, it’s next to impossible to underappreciate a three-time 1,000-yard rusher on a perennial loser.

But somehow, followers of the Iowa State Cyclones have long been up to the challenge.

Though he swears it isn’t the case, it would be very easy for a talented player like Darren Davis to regret coming to Ames, Iowa.

The elusive tailback left the excitement of south Florida for the cornfields of central Iowa and will finish his four-year career with a lopsided losing record.

His teams haven’t exactly featured All-American supporting casts. They’ve garnered little if any national attention and, if Davis is extremely lucky, they might help him limp into the Insight.com Bowl in this his senior season.

On top of all that, he’s underappreciated.

No matter what Davis does, how many yards he gains or how many records he breaks, the senior doesn’t get the respect he deserves.

His freshman year, Davis played in the shadow of older brother Troy, focusing on special teams, rarely carrying the ball out of the backfield.

His second season, ironically, pushed Davis even further into big brother’s shadow. With Troy moving on to the NFL, his ISU legend grew by leaps and bounds and fans were quick to point out each game that Darren wasn’t Troy. He wasn’t as strong as or as resistant to injury, and he’d never be as successful.

As his junior year arrived, Davis faced new criticisms. He wasn’t fast enough in the open field, he tried to do too much by himself, and he couldn’t hit the holes his line provided.

Throughout it all, Davis kept his head high and piled up yard after yard as the Cyclone’s fortunes remained in the gutter.

Entering this final year, Davis seemed to have proved his detractors wrong. The critics remained, however, now latching onto promising sophomore tailback Ennis Haywood. In his rookie season, Haywood showed flashes of brilliance in a limited role, and many fans felt he should at least be splitting time with ISU’s marquis player.

Over the course of his three and a half “mediocre” seasons, the middle Davis has amassed nearly 3,500 rushing yards and nearly 4,500 total yards. He’s in the midst of an eight-game streak of 100-plus rushing yard performances.

He’s run over the rival Iowa Hawkeyes like no other back in ISU history, including Troy, piling up 479 yards over the last two seasons alone. He’s the third-leading rusher in the nation with 1,097 yards already in ’99, putting him well over 400 yards ahead of even his closest competitors in the Big 12.

Even more amazing and even less recognized, Davis is never a detriment to his team. Over the course of his last 24 games dating back to October of 1997, Davis has not lost a single fumble. That’s an impossible 658 carries without a turnover.

More important than any of his statistics, however, is the huge role Davis has played in the Cyclones’ 1999 quest for legitimacy. The diminutive back has been instrumental in each of ISU’s first four victories and turned in very respectable performances in each of the losses. If the Cyclones do reach that Insight.Com Bowl, it will be because of Davis.

No, Cyclone fans will never see Troy Davis again.

Sure, Ennis Haywood may be a superb back in the seasons to come.

In the meantime, sit back and enjoy Darren. You’ve only got a few games left.