Is there a better way to start your NFL career than with a touchdown catch?

Not if you're Ted Bolser.

With about nine minutes to go in the third quarter of Thursday night's Redskins preseason opener against the New England Patriots at FedExField, the Indiana University product made his first NFL catch a memorable one by hauling in a seven-yard touchdown from quarterback Colt McCoy.

"It's a great feeling, you know? There's nothing like it," Bolser said. "It was just a little stick route, and fortunately there was nobody really covering me. Just a little dump off pass and I got lucky enough to get in the end zone."

Bolser also proved his worth as a two-way player, getting a chance to contribute on special teams under coordinator Ben Kotwica.

However, Bolser – who played with both the Redskins' punt and PAT teams – said Thursday's game is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the amount of work ahead of him.

"There's a couple plays in there that just eat away at you and you think about for a little bit," Bolser said. "You've gotta be good at pretty much everything, especially at this level. If there's something that people see that you're lacking at, they're gonna go after it. So you've gotta be a well-shaped all around tight end."

Luckily for Bolser, he can count on his teammates to help him fully develop. He said his veteran teammates at tight end – Jordan Reed, Logan Paulsen and Niles Paul – have taken him under their wing with training camp going into its final days next week.

"They've helped me every step of the way," Bolser said. "They've helped me with my plays; Logan [Paulsen] wanted to make sure he went up and met my parents. Just everything, no matter what it is, they're always there to help me."

In fact, Paulsen seemed almost as excited as the seventh-round draft pick when talking about Bolser's big play Thursday night.

"It's fantastic," Paulsen said. "Ted's a really good guy and he's been working really hard. I actually made the comment to him yesterday that he's picked up the offense really well and he's starting to become a player. He's not kind of a spectator anymore because he knows what he's doing, so it's great that he's rewarded with that touchdown."

Interestingly enough, Bolser's first catch as an Indiana Hoosier was also a touchdown. He went on to have 14 more touchdowns in four seasons as a Hoosier, so he's hoping Thursday's score is just the first of many in a Redskins uniform.

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