By Will Vandervort.

It’s not often an offensive line coach says he has to get one of his players to eat more, but that’s the case when Clemson offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell talks about Isaiah Battle.

When weigh-ins begin on Thursday in preparation for the start of training camp on Friday, it’s unlikely Battle will come at the target goal of 290 pounds. As of mid-July, the 6-foot-7 left tackle was 13 pounds underweight.

“He does not like to eat,” Caldwell said earlier this month. “He has to me more dedicated in the nutrition end of it. It is like weight lifting. We have all those tools on hand – nutritionist, we have everybody. You have to commit to that.”

The good news is Battle is still one of the strongest guys on the team and as Caldwell described, “He is very powerful.”

With Brandon Thomas now in the NFL, Battle is without doubt the Tigers best player at the tackle positions. Actually, he is one of the more talented and athletic players on the team regardless of position.

As documented several times in the last year, Battle’s career has been up and down. After a modest start to his college career as freshman, he busted onto the scene at the end of the year when he had to go in for Gifford Timothy who suffered a game-ending knee injury in the first half of the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Playing against one of the best defensive ends and defensive lines in the country in LSU, Battle held his own despite being thrown into the fire.

He kept Barkevious Mingo in check, while recording one knock down block and allowing no sacks in 73 snaps against No. 7 LSU.

But Battle stayed in and out of Dabo Swinney’s doghouse early last year because of his lack of focus and attitude at times. It did not help that he took a swing at an NC State defensive back in the later stages of the Tigers’ win in Raleigh, which got him a one-game suspension.

But after coming back from his suspension, Battle’s attitude began to change and so did his playing time. He played in 10 games overall and thanks to another knee injury to Gifford—which ended his career—Battle was thrust into the starting lineup the last four games of the season.

“He had to mature on the football field quickly. He had to learn what to do,” Caldwell said.

Battle has always been one to pick up things fast. He became a solid fixture at right tackle the last four games as he sewed things up on the offensive line. Playing against two of the best defensive lines in the country in South Carolina and Ohio State, Battle did not allow a sack and recorded four knockdown blocks.

“Being on the edge, you have a lot of responsibilities to see things that are moving out there. If you don’t have experience doing it, it is difficult. A quick snap of the fingers and you are lost,” Caldwell said. “But he started there and he improved during the spring and made progress there.

“So far it appears he has had a good summer. I would like to see him take on more of a leadership role and be a little more assertive in that area.”

And eat a little bit more, too.