Mitch Hyatt didn’t give many good interviews when he was a five-star recruit.

Maybe he just didn’t have to. The overwhelming consensus was that Hyatt would end up at Clemson. You can thank his uncle for that. Dan Benish, the former Clemson defensive tackle, made sure the Tigers had a leg up on the competition.

It’s also possible that Hyatt didn’t want to get caught up in the odd assortment of people that cover recruiting — can’t really blame him, if that was the case.

By nature, Hyatt comes off as a relatively quiet person, who doesn’t have a ton to say. But there’s a personality in the big kid from North Gwinnett High School, one that the people he counts as friends and family will know more than your average reporter ever will.

Hyatt’s first appearance in front of the Clemson media was on Saturday after the 49-10 win over Wofford. Still riding high from his first taste of college ball, he looked and sounded much more comfortable in front of a crowd of people gathered around with microphones, cameras and voice recorders.

Tuesday’s appearance in the West End Zone was even more impressive. Hyatt looked comfortable with the shine of the spotlight pointed directly on him. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound left tackle showed some upside as a guy who could one day be counted on to hold court with reporters.

Maybe Eric Mac Lain’s mentor program isn’t limited to football. Mac Lain is as comfortable with the media as they come. He’s already up there with former Clemson greats like Tajh Boyd, Michael Palmer, Rennie Moore and Brandon Maye.

It’s probably not too far-fetched to think Mac Lain has offered Hyatt some pointers when it comes to handling interviews. Two interviews into his college career  Hyatt’s so much better than he was high school.

On Tuesday, he was confident. He laughed, smiled and even got a few laughs out of the story he told about his first trip down the hill.

“I couldn’t really find the rock. I was behind a crowd of the guys and I was trying to find the rock,” Hyatt said. “I couldn’t really find it, then it kind of popped out. I reached for it, grabbed, then ran down.

“I was tip-toeing down and I start seeing guys sprint down there. They were just jumping up and I was like, there’s no way. I need to just make it down the hill as safe as possible, so I finally got down there and got to the sideline.”

Hyatt was ready to ball, too. This is where offensive linemen really excel. In general, they’re the smartest, most cerebral players on any football team, so it’s not uncommon for guys to provide some depth on what’s going on with the game inside the game.

On Tuesday, Hyatt offered some good lines about trying to block Shaq Lawson, but managed to mix in some humor. That usually creates some quotable opportunities for reporters.

“He’s got a good combination of skills. He’s powerful. He’s quick off the ball. He has great moves,” Hyatt said. “The thing is, at the beginning of camp, I didn’t think I was ever going to be able to block him.

“I don’t think I beat him once…but as it kind of went on, I kind of started to understand the speed of it, getting off the ball and working on my own skills, but I started being able to compete with them more. It definitely helped in the game and (will) in the games to come.”

Now, with a couple of college interviews on his resume, Hyatt can start tweaking a few things. Some might say the primary area he’ll need to show signs of improvement in is interview length. Towards the end of the near four-minute session he had on Tuesday, Hyatt showed signs of fatigue.

For a guy who was so unpolished out of high school, that’s to be understood — as an interview prospect, Hyatt was, at best, a two-star.

Most of the responsibility falls for longer interviews on the media. More questions certainly make for a longer interview — thanks, Captain Obvious.

Next time, we’ll be a little more ready to keep interrogating Hyatt.