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Provo • You know you are thin at the quarterback position when you have to ask a former quarterback who has exhausted his eligibility to come back and direct the offense so the other players on that side of the ball can continue to develop.

That's what happened at BYU on Wednesday, as 2014 senior Christian Stewart zipped passes all over the Indoor Practice Facility during the second practice session of spring camp.

"On Saturday, I was a has-been," Stewart explained. "On Sunday, I got a call from Utah State [asking if he would throw for the Aggies on Pro Day]. … And then on Monday, coach [Jason] Beck calls me and says, 'hey, McCoy [Hill] got hurt. How would you feel about doing spring ball?'"

The Cougars entered camp with backup quarterback McCoy Hill, scout team QB Hunter Moore and 2014 opening-day starter Taysom Hill, who is still recovering from a broken leg and can't participate in 11-on-11 scrimmages or contact drills.

McCoy Hill suffered a sprained left foot on Monday and could be out all month, pending an MRI on Thursday and a second opinion from another doctor. Moore, a walk-on, isn't ready to run the offense every day.

So Beck called BYU compliance and learned that Stewart could practice because he's still enrolled in school this semester. Stewart, wearing the No. 7 that he wore as the starter the last eight games of the season, will likely help out the rest of camp, which concludes April 3.

"It is legal, and so amazing that a former player with no game eligibility would be willing, and wanted, to practice," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said, facetiously suggesting a statue would be built in Stewart's honor. "He absolutely helped our team out today, and so our defense is getting a really good look as to what an active, mobile quarterback that can throw the ball looks like, with experience. And our offensive players are developing because, again, we can throw it and catch it. … I am not sure I have ever heard of anything like it before."

Offensive coordinator Robert Anae said Stewart's presence allows the offense to advance and the defense to get tested by a top-flight QB.

"What a story," Anae said. "I hope that goes down as one of the all-time great BYU stories, that we had a guy who was willing to advance the team so everyone can get better while we wait for our younger QBs to get in and get involved."

Those two young QBs will join the program this summer — Tanner Mangum when he returns from a church mission to Chile on June 1 and freshman Beau Hoge when he graduates from high school in Fort Thomas, Ky.

Anae said coaches looked into the junior college ranks for a potential mid-year transfer, but "not too many juco guys wanted to come in and sit down [behind Taysom Hill]. And the jucos who were willing to ride the bench, we didn't feel were the types of quarterbacks who could advance the program."

Anae added that the expected return of Mangum, "the Elite 11 guy," scared away some potential prospects.

"Those guys aren't dumb," Anae said. "They want to know who is coming back. And so that's the way it worked."

And that's how Stewart, who is engaged to be married and scheduled to take a job in investment banking in San Francisco this spring, is back quarterbacking the Cougars.

"It didn't feel real, for sure," said Stewart, who will throw at USU's Pro Day on Thursday after being asked to by a friend who plays for the Aggies. "It didn't feel like it was a real thing. But today was fun to get back out there with the guys, throw the ball around. What are they going to do, yell at me? I can do whatever I want out there, throw the deep ball or whatever, they can't really say anything to me."

Nothing except "Thank you," probably.

Twitter: @drewjay —

Day Two Developments

• Sophomore QB McCoy Hill suffered a sprained left foot in Monday's practice, so 2014 QB Christian Stewart, who exhausted his eligibility, was brought back to fill in

• Coach Bronco Mendenhall said he might have a new Director of Football Operations in place by the end of the week

• Junior safety Kai Nacua said he called Memphis coach Justin Fuente and apologized for his role in the brawl after the Miami Beach Bowl