Redshirt freshman Bolser finding niche with Hoosiers at tight end

Ted Bolser ran his second-down route to the right side of the end zone. The IU tight end wasn’t open initially, but he didn’t give up on the play.

Senior quarterback Ben Chappell wanted to throw to running back Darius Willis in the flat, but after a quick pump fake, the Towson cornerback came up, leaving Bolser wide open.

Chappell hit Bolser right between the numbers, giving No. 83 his first collegiate reception and first collegiate touchdown on the same play.

Bolser immediately threw his left arm in the air, tossed the football to the official and celebrated by giving chest bumps to Chappell and Willis. Bolser admitted after the game that he didn’t know exactly how he was supposed to celebrate.

“I had a lot of people telling me what to do, what not to do,” the redshirt freshman said. “My friends were telling me to do some crazy stuff. One of my friends told me to come jump in the stands where he was sitting.”

That’s OK, though, because Bolser said he hopes to have plenty more opportunities this season.

The 6-foot-6-inch, 252-pound Bolser had a coming out party of sorts in last Thursday night’s season opener against Towson, bringing down four catches for 68 yards and the first-quarter, 12-yard touchdown.

This from a guy who practiced with the second team for much of the off-season and learned of his opportunity to play with the starters only a week before the Towson game.

Bolser’s road to the field as IU’s tight end was a long one. The Cincinnati native began his football career in first grade as a running back and linebacker. Bolser had so much success at the two positions that he continued to play both until his sophomore year at Indian Hill High School.

That’s when he and his coach decided to move Bolser into a receiving role.

While he was technically a tight end, Bolser was split out away from the line on most plays and functioned more as a wide receiver.

He hadn’t seen any time at wideout or tight end prior to the summer leading up to his sophomore season, but it didn’t matter — when Indian Hill opened the regular season, Bolser was the varsity starter.

“From then on, I fell in love with catching the ball,” he said.

Bolser, a lifelong Cincinnati Bengals fan, recorded a combined 131 catches and 1,883 yards in his junior and senior seasons and helped the Braves advance to the regional championship game his junior year. He was the third-best tight end in Ohio according to OhioVarsity.com and received scholarship offers from Kentucky, Louisville and Akron in addition to IU.

Bolser wanted an opportunity to play early in his collegiate career, and he thought if he worked hard enough, he could find his way onto the field for the Hoosiers.

There was only one catch: Bolser would have to become a traditional tight end.

“I didn’t think it would be nearly as hard,” he said. “I never went into a three-point position in my life until I came here.”

Not only did Bolser have to learn a new stance and technique, he also had to learn how to block — something he never had to worry about before.

During his time on the scout team as a redshirt last season, Bolser was pushed around by defensive ends Greg Middleton and Jammie Kirlew, guys who outweighed Bolser by 40 to 60 pounds.

“I was scared to be honest,” Bolser said.

But he stayed with it, spent plenty of time in the weight room and bulked up — he added about 30 pounds of muscle — to the point that he now resembles a Big Ten tight end.

“He’s done an amazing job,” IU coach Bill Lynch said. “He’s a physical, physical guy and he gets better everyday.”

Chappell said there was a point last spring when he didn’t think Bolser could improve enough in the blocking department to move up in the depth chart.

“He has improved a ton and has really become one of the better blocking tight ends,” Chappell said. “He looks like a Big Ten tight end now, but he’s still as fast as ever. He’s a special, unique athlete.”

Not only can Bolser help protect Chappell and open holes for Willis, but he also provides a threat over the middle to complement a talented wide-receiving core that includes junior Tandon Doss , who did not play against Towson, junior Damarlo Belcher, senior Terrance Turner and redshirt freshmen Duwyce Wilson.

Chappell and Lynch agreed: Bolser is a piece the Hoosiers haven’t recently had.

“It’s huge. I mean, a big guy over the middle who can catch the ball — I think any offense can benefit from a good tight end,” Chappell said. “We have to work to keep him grounded because the sky’s the limit for him.”

Whether he is fending off athletic defensive linemen or serving as a safety valve for Chappell, Bolser will take the next play as seriously as he took the last. There’s only one thing that matters to the converted tight end — contributing to the Hoosiers’
success.

“If it’s not thrown at me, I’m going to be blocking, and if it’s thrown at me, I’m going to be catching the ball,” said Bolser, who will likely share time with junior Max Dedmond. “Hopefully I’ll be able to take some pressure off of the receivers, and certainly having them in the wide receiver position takes pressure off me.”

E-mail jmalbers@indiana.edu