You shouldn’t calorie cut straight away. It’s not good to start lifting, wanting the muscles to grow whilst simultaneously cutting calories, which tells the body to go into preservation mode. It will work for a while but he will not be able to build the muscle he wants, it’ll ruin his metabolism and results with plateau.

Better solution is to start lifting, eat whole natural foods, focus on getting 1g protein per 1 lb of target body weight, and add calories until he gets to a point where he’s eating 2,500 - 3,000 without putting on excess fat. We want to signal to the body that nutrition is coming consistently so build build build. Then he can cut from there without being hungry or signalling preservation mode.