MADISON, Wis. -- Nick Davis is a small-town guy with a big-time talent for returning kicks.

	Nick Davis leads the Badgers in receiving and kick returns.

He grew up in Manchester, Mich., a town of 1,700 about 20 miles southwest of Ann Arbor, a speck in the shadow of the Michigan Wolverines' Big House. After a spectacular high school career, he was Michigan's for the asking.

The Wolverines didn't ask, however, and he found a happy home at Wisconsin.

Davis, a sophomore who is also the Badgers' leading receiver this season, would like to show the Wolverines the error of their ways when Wisconsin (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP) plays host to Michigan (No. 5 ESPN/USA Today, No. 4 AP) on Saturday. He had 400 supporters in the crowd last season when the Badgers played at Michigan, and expects even more this weekend.

"The whole town of Manchester is going to be over here, probably," he said with a bashful grin. "It's an incentive, let's just say that."

After three games, Davis ranks third in the nation with 19.5 yards per punt return and fifth with 35.8 yards per kickoff return. He's the only player in the country in the top 10 in both categories, and already has one touchdown on each type of return.

Davis grew up longing to play in Michigan's maize and blue. As a running back in high school, he amassed more than 6,900 all-purpose yards and 69 touchdowns. Early on, however, he suspected he had a talent for returning kicks, and hoped the Wolverines would see it.

"I was so interested in Michigan that I didn't really pay attention to any other Big Ten schools," he said.

Michigan seemed keenly interested in him at first, but Davis' stock fell after the Wolverines won the 1997 national championship.

"Every time you have something like that in a program, you get your top choices of recruits, and I kept sliding down their list," he recalled. "They told me that I'd better start looking elsewhere, so I did."

Wisconsin and Michigan State showed interest, but only the Badgers promised him an immediate chance to return kicks. He came to Madison as a running back, but converted to receiver when coach Barry Alvarez said he'd have a better chance to play right away.

"We put him back there, and it was pretty obvious he was something special," Alvarez said. "You're just happy when you see a kid with a knack for something like that."

It's a knack developed through hard work and study. Davis claims there's no secret to his splendid return results, but his discussions of the subject reveal both confidence and preparation.

He and the coaches study videotapes of other teams' coverage squads, trying to anticipate the movements of all 11 players. He relies on his first three steps -- unusually quick, even for a kick returner -- to get him past the coverage team's sprinters and into the second wave of tacklers.

"It's just about catching the ball first and knowing where the holes are most likely to be," he said. "There's 10 or 11 guys coming straight at you, and the field is 53 yards wide. There's going to be some seams. You have control."

In three games, he also has seven catches for 147 yards. He has 463 all-purpose yards, more than any Badgers player except running back Ron Dayne. Davis would have even more if an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown last week against Cincinnati hadn't been called back by a penalty.

Whatever his fortunes, Davis will always have the support of his hometown. Manchester held Nick Davis Day during his freshman season, when he led the Big Ten in punt returns.