CLEMSON — It’s kind of hard to miss Bamberg’s Big Chic restaurant.

The longstanding restaurant, which is famous for its southern fried chicken and big cup of sweet tea, sits just off to the right as you enter the City of Bamberg when traveling down Highway 301 South from Orangeburg. The locals love it, as do those loyal customers who travel down from Orangeburg County to fix their cravings.

But believe it or not, there’s one guy from Bamberg who goes out of his way to avoid eating at the famous Big Chic.

“As much as I wanted too, the Big Chic is the best, but I couldn’t do it,” said Bamberg native and Clemson defensive end Ricky Sapp following Thursday night’s practice. “I just could not do it. I had to be dedicated.

“I thought about my team, my teammates and my coaching staff, so I did not eat at the Big Chic.”

Instead, Sapp ate pasta and drank a lot of water when he went home to visit his family this off-season.

“There is no greasy food,” he said smiling.

That self-dedication is appearing to payoff for Sapp, who once again could not be blocked during third-down drills in Thursday’s practice. For the third time during camp, the coaches thought about taking him out of practice.

“We can’t block Ricky Sapp right now,” Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden said. “Whatever tackle he goes over, he is beating. We are going to have to take him out. I hope he gives other teams the problem he is giving us.”

Since the end of last season, Sapp has added eight pounds to his frame, and it’s the good eight pounds, not the eight pounds one will gain by eating ice cream every night before bed.

“We have one of the best weight room staffs in the country,” Sapp said. “They got me on a program where I eat a big breakfast and eat about two more big meals. I eat a lot of pasta. I stopped eating hamburgers and I drink a lot of water. That helped me gain more weight, while getting stronger with it too.”

Sapp, who weighs 248 pounds and stands at 6-foot-4, is stronger. His position coach, Ron West, says that’s because he is pressing the pocket more.

“The difference in Ricky Sapp last year and this year is 20 pounds, and that’s 20 pounds of muscle,” West said. “There has never been a problem with Ricky Sapp. The problem was more of a lighter kid, and he didn’t have the strength factor.

“In college football, you have to build it.”

Sapp, who weighed 217 pounds when he came to Clemson in 2006, enters his junior season with a lot to play for. After recording 52 tackles and five sacks last season in his first year as a starter, he is considered one of the best pass rushers in the ACC. But to get to the next level, he understood he had to bulk up while not losing his speed so he could improve on his run stopping skills, while also maintaining his elite pass rushing status.

“I feel real comfortable with my weight after spending a year carrying it and gaining 10 more pounds and getting stronger with it,” he said. “I think my speed and my strength have all leveled out so I feel pretty good about it.

“Coach West told me last year that I have to be a student of the game, so I started studying offensive linemen more and offensive plays more and I think everything is starting to click.”

The more Sapp does, the more he seems to be like his predecessor Gaines Adams, who is now entering his second season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL.

“The difference between him and Gaines is Gaines was a sixth-year guy,” Bowden said. “He had prep school and then five years. (Sapp) is just in his third year. He has the speed, but he doesn’t have the upper body strength. He is more of an edge guy, but he is very talented… He is 20 pounds lighter than what Gaines was. He’s not as good against the run, but he is so quick he is still very effective against the run and is probably a little quicker than Gaines.”

He just isn’t as quick about going to The Big Chic anymore.

Note: Bowden announced to the meida he will likely redshirt senior Rendrick Taylor. The senior was moved from wide receiver to running back in the spring in an attempt to get him on the field more, but with freshmen Jamie Harper and Andre Ellington in the mix, Bowden feels it is best to have an experienced player in the fold at tailback next year should junior C.J. Spiller decide to join senior James Davis in the NFL after this season.

Taylor came back to practice Tuesday after missing several days due to personal issues. He will speak with the media after Saturday's scrimmage.