Todd Haselhorst is starting to enjoy Kansas University’s summer football workouts — now that the puking has stopped.

“I was told it would be really hard,” said the freshman defensive lineman from Olathe East, “but I was like, ‘Yeah, I bet I can do it.’ I came in, and I was wrong.”

Haselhorst was an all-state selection for the Hawks last fall. He also was the Class 6A runner-up in the discus at the state track meet and placed third in the discus — despite battling bronchitis throughout the spring.

While the illness didn’t hurt his strength in the throwing events, it hampered his conditioning. That set the newcomer up for a painful introduction to KU’s grueling summer workouts.

The Jayhawks run for an hour to 90 minutes four times a week. The rest of their 21/2- to 3-hour sessions are spent lifting weights.

“We did a lot of running in high school, but it wasn’t as intense,” Haselhorst said. “You don’t get as much rest, and it’s at a lot faster pace. It’s rapid-fire. You go from one drill to another. … The first day wasn’t that bad, but the second day it was real bad. I thought I was going to die. I was throwing up, and it just killed me. I was too tired to lift.”

The 6-foot-4 lineman dropped from 303 pounds to 293 during his illness, then lost 10 more pounds after starting the summer program.

Haselhorst, however, wasn’t the only one rejecting his breakfast.

“It’s not just Todd,” said KU director of strength and conditioning Chris Dawson. “Any of the incoming players are going to struggle early on with the tempo of it. They might be able to do it the first day and maybe even the second day, but day after day it takes a special person. You don’t just walk in the door and know how to do it. You have to learn how to work at that intensity level and tempo.

“When it gets tough, the kids are fighting back. Part of the maturing process is dealing with adversity. That develops mental toughness, and that carries over to the field.”

Haselhorst, like the other newcomers, is catching on. Halfway through KU’s summer workouts — which resume Tuesday after a four-day holiday break — the freshman is back up to 298 pounds.

“Todd’s made a lot of progress,” Dawson said. “Is he there yet? By no means, but he’s working at it and doing a good job.”

The majority of KU’s freshmen have attended at least a portion of KU’s voluntary summer program. Haselhorst was glad he didn’t wait until the Aug. 6 report date to come to Lawrence.

“If I would have come in August, I would have been behind in terms of conditioning and learning,” said Haselhorst, who also has been studying KU’s defensive playbook. “Now that I’m used to it, I’ve stopped dropping weight. Now I need to maintain my weight and gain strength and speed. I’ll just keep pushing myself and hopefully get stronger and faster and get prepared for the Big 12.”

In addition to getting in shape, the summer program has given Haselhorst a taste of college life and a chance to get to know his teammates. He’s living in Jayhawker Towers with freshmen Joe Mortensen, Scott Haverkamp and Mike Rivera.

He and Rivera aren’t limiting their heavy lifting to Anderson Strength and Conditioning Center. They work part-time at Professional Moving Company and Storage with teammates Clark McCracken and Sadiq Muhammed.

KU’s coaches are hoping their freshmen defensive linemen — Haselhorst, James McClinton and Anthony Collins — can contribute in 2004, but Kansas fans will have to wait until at least Aug. 7 — the first day of preseason practices — to find out what the newcomers are capable of.

“I’ve never seen him put on a KU helmet,” Dawson said of Haselhorst. “You can’t tell until you put on the pads and the bullets start flying.”