Tight ends eclipse school benchmarks early in game

Ted Bolser is already in the IU record books as a redshirt freshman.

The IU tight end tied the school record for the most touchdowns in a season by a tight end.

Bolser’s two touchdowns helped lead IU to a 35-20 win against Akron on Saturday. The two scores gave Bolser four on the year, tying the record held by Bob Stephenson, who recorded four touchdowns in 1979.

Having already recorded at least one touchdown in each of the first three games, Bolser is on pace to shatter the 31-year-old record.

“It’s something special,” Bolser said. “Tying it is only one thing, but beating it is another, and I can only hope to do that.”

After senior quarterback Ben Chappell led the Hoosiers into the red zone on their first drive, he found Bolser wide open in the back corner of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass.

Less than eight minutes later, Bolser struck again.

On what appeared to be the same exact route as his first touchdown, Chappell hit Bolser in the back corner of the end zone for an 8-yard connection to give IU a 14-3 lead.

“For some reason the safeties were biting really hard inside,” Bolser said. “I knew I could use my speed to get my step inside and get outside.”

Chappell found a tight end in the red zone well into the second quarter. However, instead of connecting with the usual suspect in Bolser, Chappell scrambled to find junior tight end Max Dedmond for a 2-yard score to give the Hoosiers a 21-6 lead with 5:38 remaining in the first half.

The tight end tandem’s three touchdowns against the Zips were more than IU tight ends scored all last season.

Getting the ball to the tight end might not have been the IU way of years past, but Bolser sensed that tide is quickly changing.

“It used to be whenever they would throw the ball to the tight end, we would be fortunate enough,” Bolser said.

Red zone offense was an area in which Lynch knew his team had to improve coming into 2010. Production from the tight ends adds another element to an offense that is averaging 41.3 points per game heading into Big Ten play.

“We always knew Max could be a good receiver, but Teddy gives us something a little bit different because he can get down the field,” Lynch said. “The tight end isn’t necessarily (Chappell’s) first option, but he sure finds them.”

When Bolser was asked why he believes he has been open so often in the first three games, Dedmond jumped in before Bolser could give an answer.

“Speed. Ted’s got great speed,” Dedmond said. “Seriously, this guy’s got wide receiver speed, and he can block like a tight end.”

Being an integral part of the offense as receivers is something the two tight ends had been working toward since they got to IU.

“That’s what we wanted to accomplish this year. As a group, we wanted to step up and be big playmakers,” Dedmond said. “I think as a group, we’ve really come a long way.”