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PROVO — When wide receiver Terenn Houk took to the field for the final live scrimmage during BYU football’s spring camp, the first pass from quarterback Christian Stewart came right to him in the middle of the field.
And he dropped it.
Offensive coordinator Robert Anae ran to Houk and told him to pick up the ball and make sure it didn’t happen again.
The senior took the words to heart.
Houk finished with a scrimmage-best 66 yards on five catches as Stewart led the offense through five series, about 40 plays, three touchdowns and a field goal in the final live workout at LaVell Edwards Stadium until fall camp begins in August.
“I made sure to get a catch the next play, and bounce back,” Houk said. “I just tried to do the best I could and encourage my teammates.”
The short memory was a key focus for Houk and the other wide receivers, who he said grew in their consistency and discipline over the past month of drills, plays and conditioning exercises.
“It’s just mental toughness,” Houk added. “You’ve got to pause, reset and then move forward. You’ve got to be confident in your skills. One drop doesn’t define you; just bounce back.”
One bad game or muffed play didn’t define Stewart during his long road to the BYU starting quarterback spot. When the senior from Orem returned to BYU after a two-year stint at Snow College, he found himself buried on the depth chart.
But when the offense needed him most, Stewart was there, leading the squad to another postseason appearance even as injuries plagued the 2014 squad.
When the offense needed him in spring, Stewart was back — putting his life on hold and setting his GMAT test date back a full month because his teammates needed him one more time.
“If Christian Stewart hadn’t have practiced this spring, I wouldn’t have known how effective and talented our wide receiver core is,” BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “We talk about being ‘loyal, strong and true,’ but I don’t know how you become more loyal than him.”
The depth of BYU’s wide outs was on full display in front of nearly 1,000 former players, alums and their families Friday night at the stadium as part of the team’s Alumni Day. Utah State transfer Travis Frey hauled in four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown, and running back Nate Carter grabbed three passes for 18 yards and a score while also pacing the ground game with 18 yards and a touchdown on four carries.
“I’ve really loved the spring, because there hasn’t been any pressure,” Stewart said. “In season, with being BYU’s starting quarterback, there’s so much pressure. If you have a bad game, you lose.
“It’s been fun to come out here and just play football for the love of the game, play how I like to play, throw the ball around; it’s been a very rewarding experience.”
Stewart completed 21 passes for 243 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his final time playing at a stadium he has grown up near since his childhood.
“We’re excited with the progress we were able to make as a team in spring football,” said Anae, whose offense will welcome quarterbacks Tanner Mangum and freshman Beau Hoge by fall camp. “We could not have done that without Christian Stewart helping and coming back. We look forward to the fall, when Taysom will be back and able to run 11-on-11 stuff. We look forward to our freshmen and the return of a missionary at quarterback, and we hope McCoy Hill is healthy as well.”
After the slow start that ended with Devon Blackmon returning a punt on the first offensive series, Stewart helped the offense rebound with a long field goal try, then capped the scrimmage with three-straight touchdown drives, including a long pass to Frey on the penultimate series of spring camp.
Most of the first-team players were held out during the 11-on-11 segment of the scrimmage, but even Taysom Hill got several reps during the 7-on-7 segment.
If the wide receivers can live up to the work they’ve shown their departing quarterback, next season could be a breakout year for several BYU pass catchers, Stewart said.
“They’re the real deal; I’m really excited to see what they can do next year, and I really hope that Taysom utilizes them,” Stewart said of the receivers. “They can do a lot of good things. People will be open every play if we run the offense the way it’s supposed to be ran.”
But spring camp is a beginning, not an end. And Houk and the rest of the BYU offense knows there is still plenty of work to do before BYU kicks off the 2015 season at Nebraska on Sept. 5.
“We need to make the hard (plays) as well, and also, work hard to get the extra edge on our opponents,” Houk said. “They are working just as hard, so we’ve got to work even harder.”
