No, not because the Jayhawks bulked up from “the most intense offseason conditioning drills yet,” according to KU junior linebacker Banks Floodman.

Actually, it was the lack of conditioner that will be needed for the handful of Jayhawks who chose to get their hair closely cropped during the summer.

“It’s a new season, so we thought we’d try a new look,” said Floodman, who along with senior center Joe Vaughn sported their recent buzzcuts at this week’s Big 12 Conference football media days in Kansas City, Mo.

“We just decided to do it one night,” said a smiling Floodman. “It’s a little something different.”

While the Wichita native’s new look is a far cry from the curls he sported last season, Floodman’s fresh ‘do isn’t as radical of an alteration as the new hairstyles sported by Gabriel Toomey or Clark Green.

Toomey’s lengthy brown locks are no longer, and Green’s trademark Afro is out of here.

The Jayhawks might have gained a nanosecond of speed because of their new aerodynamics, but KU will need an even faster start to a season that features the nation’s fourth-toughest schedule.

“Anybody can win on a given day in college football. We’ve seen that time and again,” said Kansas coach Mark Mangino, whose squad had quite a turnaround last season when the Jayhawks went 6-7 and earned a trip to the Tangerine Bowl after suffering a 2-10 record in Mangino’s inaugural campaign.

“I worked as an assistant at two other Big 12 universities and when KU — or what were considered the lower-echelon teams — when we played them, I worked just as hard to prepare,” Mangino continued. “I don’t think there’s anybody at those two universities who said, ‘KU’s coming to town, let’s go golf.’ Anybody can beat you on any day.”

But with eight of KU’s 11 opponents coming off of bowl trips, that task gets even tougher.

“Those are the 11 games that we have, and I’m not going to give any of them up right now,” Mangino said. “We’re going to show up, we’re going to play hard and we’re going to probably win some that people think we couldn’t win.”

If Kansas can do that, it probably will need a potent defense.

Last year the Jayhawks’ D gave up 412.6 yards per game and 50 touchdowns.

While those numbers were marginally better than the season before, Mangino said he sees potential for improvement in his team’s stopping power.

“We’re going to be better on defense,” Mangino said. “We’re going to be better in a lot of areas. I’m confident of that.”

Floodman and linebacking buddies Toomey and Nick Reid again should be the anchor of the Kansas defense.

“It’s always nice to hear those accolades, but we’re just three guys out of 11,” said Floodman of the trio, which combined to tally nearly 350 tackles last season. “We have to play as 11 players together or it won’t matter.”

Floodman said he feels that the Jayhawks took the necessary measures during the offseason to make the defense more sound.

“We’ve put in countless hours in the weight room, and worked hard on a lot of unit drills, especially during seven-on-seven practices,” he said.

“A couple of years ago during summer workouts you had a lot of guys showing up, but not everybody. Now everybody shows up and goes 100 percent in workouts. If not, then your teammates are going to let you hear about it.”

Floodman said he hopes such offseason dedication will help make things hairy for opponents who enter Memorial Stadium this fall, and create a bit more buzz for KU football in Lawrence.

“Around campus people are excited,” he said. “I noticed they’re running around wearing a little more football gear, talking about the team.

“That definitely helps your confidence. And our confidence is much, much higher this off-season. I think we got a taste of things last year with our trip to the bowl game, but we ended on a sour note. There’s a lot left for us to do.”