"I said, 'That's exactly right,' " Davis recalled. "Chad Owens is a special player. He's fast, he's smart and he has great natural sense. You still have to give him some help. He's not going to make 11 guys miss. Well, he might. But it doesn't hurt to give him some blockers, too. He's one of the best."

The Western Athletic Conference agreed, yesterday naming Owens as its Player of the Week for special teams.

In Saturday's 48-26 victory over Nevada, Owens scored on a punt return — this time covering 75 yards — for the second consecutive game. He also caught two touchdown passes from Tim Chang.

"It's a credit to the rest of the fellas," said Owens, a Roosevelt High graduate who joined UH as a non-scholarship player in 2000. "The defense played superb. It was the defense that gave me the opportunity to return the punt. And the guys (on the punt-return team) made great blocks to create seams. It's easier when you're running in an open field."

As a second-year freshman in 2001, Owens was second nationally in kickoffs, averaging 33.6 yards per return. In the season-finale against Brigham Young, he scored on punt and kickoff returns.

Owens was used sparingly on special teams the ensuing two years, but he said the time away allowed him to mature as a returner.

"I know the game a little better," said Owens, who now is the primary punt returner. "I know the speed of the game. When I was a freshman, I was a mad man. I was going wild. You need that as a return man, but you also have to know when to turn it on and off, when to run fast and when to pace yourself."

What can't be taught is, in football parlance, "field vision" — the ability to quickly find the running lanes and "sense" would-be tacklers. "I can't explain it," Owens said. "If you've got it, you've got it. If you don't, work harder. I'm working hard every day to improve."

Davis said UH's return schemes are liberally designed to showcase Owens' improvisation skills. Davis calls which direction to run the return; the blockers are required to "get a body on a body. The rest is up to Owens.

"With a guy like Chad, you'd rather let him do his deal and not second guess him," Davis said. "He might make the wrong cut, but he'll make a lot of right cuts. He's going to make them miss. The players are buying into it. They're doing a good job of working their fannies off and letting Chad do what he does best."

Davis likens Owens' elusiveness to former All-Pro returner Eric Metcalf's. Davis, who served as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator, said he affords Owens the same freedom he gave All-Pro running back Barry Sanders. Owens, who received a scholarship in 2001, is UH's co-captain.

"They've got that great vision," Davis said. "Because of that, you can't second guess what they do. I remember second guessing to myself something Barry did. But I would never tell him because I wanted to look at the tape (of the play) to make sure because he was usually right. It's the same thing with Chad. When he gets a punt, you let him do his deal. You get bodies on bodies, give him as much space as we can and let the good times roll."