It seems like BYU has avoided viral soundbites in the Utah rivalry in recent years.

Ever since quarterback Max Hall famously unleashed his “I hate everything about” Utah soliloquy back in 2009, it’s been relatively quiet on the Provo front.

Enter Trey Stewart.

After BYU dispatched of the Utes 85-74 to win its eighth straight game, the Cougar guard let his feelings be known about the Utes.

“I hate Utah with a burning passion, so much man,” Stewart said with a smile. “So just to get that win, we came in motivated. They got us earlier, so we owed them one. It couldn’t have been better.”

After a BYU official tried to clarify that Stewart “doesn’t hate Utah, he dislikes them,” Stewart doubled down, laughing. “No. I hate them, put it in all your articles,” he said.

Stewart is a senior and played his final game at the Marriott Center last week. For the first time, he’s logging significant minutes as the Cougars head into the tournament. He finished his career 2-2 against the Utes.

He added that he has multiple friends on Utah.

“Hunter Erickson, Caleb Lohner, Jake Wahlin. They are some of my best friends,” Stewart said.

Still, he had his Max Hall moment that will be remembered in the rivalry for some time.

The Big Thing

With some starters resting this spring, the next few weeks will be a golden opportunity for the younger skill position players to force their way into the rotation next year.

And it’s possible nobody has more to gain in this camp than Tei Nacua.

The wide receiver room is relatively wide open right now. Senior Chase Roberts is out with a shoulder injury. Darius Lassiter is unlikely to be back with the team as he fights for more eligibility. Second-year receiver Cody Hagen is out with an injury, too.

It means Nacua, a redshirt freshman and the younger brother of NFL star Puka Nacua, is getting significant reps.

Passing game coordinator Fesi Sitake knows his chance to shoot up the depth chart is there. But Nacua needs to show a better command over the offense if it’s going to happen.

“He’s got as good of an opportunity as anyone to prove, ‘Can I roll with that starting rotation?’” Sitake said. “I just think he’s got to find that fine line of having a sense of urgency, but not at the expense of him being kind of panicky. Sometimes that happens when the opportunity is really ripe. There’s some guys who end up overthinking it and putting too much pressure on themselves.”

Sitake believes Nacua isn’t there yet. He had 15 extra bowl practices to speed him along. But there’s rust after being away for over a month. Typically, by week three in spring, the coaching staff needs to see enough mastery over the offense to count on a player for the fall.

“I think he’s gonna turn that corner soon,” Sitake said.”It’s only practice three, and so I think usually around practice five, six is where you really need to turn that corner. So not panicking, but definitely there needs to be an increased sense of urgency on those younger guys and narrowing that gap between them and starters.”

There’s a reason why Nacua is front of mind for this coaching staff — pulling for him to be ready now.

Physically, he has plenty of similarities to his brothers. Puka Nacua is an NFL star and Samson Nacua was a good player for BYU. Tei Nacua is 6-foot-2, just like Puka. And he’s put on weight after coming into the program at 190 pounds. Puka’s playing weight in college was 205.

Occasionally, you’ll see flashes from Tei Nacua that look like Puka.

“He’s really changed his body. Last year he just looked like a skinny high school kid. I don’t ever want to say his brothers names because those guys are great players and I don’t think it is fair to do that to him. But he is starting to look like a man and somebody that might be able to play for us,” offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said.

Puka Nacua came to BYU during his third year in college, transferring from Washington. So there is no exact blueprint for how this coaching staff wants to handle Tei Nacua’s timeline. But there is excitement simmering. He’s making more and more plays in camp. Maybe there will be another Nacua catches passes on Saturdays next fall.

“Puka came pretty polished in terms of the mental part of the game. So that’s a hard comparison, but Tei is smart,” Sitake said. “He’s got really natural movements and understanding of the position, but we just got to tighten up his knowledge on the playbook. I’m confident he’ll get that.”

Fourth down

1. Pulling the plug

BYU fired head basketball coach Amber Whiting this week. She went 4-14 in the Big 12 and had a first-round exit in the Big 12 tournament. After the game, she seemed relatively optimistic about the future.

“We’ve lost eight games this season by 10 points or less. We’ve been right there in a bunch of them. I see the good that we have. I see that we need to clean up some little things in the end,” she said. “Turnovers and offensive rebounds have plagued us all season and that needs to be addressed. We will add some girls for that in the offseason.”

BYU might add that. Whiting will not.

2. Double bye

BYU will get the four-seed at the Big 12 tournament this week. It will play Thursday at 10:30 a.m., likely against Iowa State.

3. Glasker update

Isaiah Glasker had a minor surgery on his wrist and is sitting out the contact portions of spring camp. He should be ready by the fall.

4. Potential destinations

Because BYU can’t play on Sundays during the NCAA Tournament, it limits the potential destinations for the first-round games. BYU can only play in Denver, Providence, Lexington or Wichita.