This is not to say that Braxton Miller is the Incredible Hulk, but Ohio State coach Urban Meyer seems to think the two share a common trait.

As for the super hero of Marvel comics, TV and movie fame, he always starts out as Dr. Bruce Banner and whenever he gets pushed, angered or agitated, his eyes first start to turn green. Soon his muscles grow, his shirt rips off, his features distort and he turns into the all-conquering Incredible Hulk.

When it comes to the Buckeyes’ sophomore quarterback, there’s supposedly a similarity.

“Coach Meyer always talks about whenever Braxton has a bad play or he screws up or gets upset, his eye color changes,” OSU center Corey Linsley said with a shrug and a smile. “The eyes changing – I don’t know about that – but he does get a different look on his face.”

Asked if he really does morph or this was just Meyer myth, Miller seemed a bit taken aback, then laughed:

“Well, normally my eyes are brown, they’re clear. But when I play a game, it does seem like they get bloodshot. They’re like red and yellowish. When something bad happens – if somebody drops a ball or something – maybe I do change a little. My attitude gets more intense.”

But in the past there has been one big difference between the comic book muscleman and the signal caller out of Wayne High School.

Once the transformation was complete, the Hulk always was loud. His roar rattled the horizon.

Miller, at least last season, was mostly mum.

And that was a problem.

“He had a hard time at first,” Linsley said.” He kept all his feelings inside. He didn’t say much to get us going.”

Receiver Corey Brown agreed: “Braxton is basically a quiet person. That was basically his main thing last year, and he needed to be more vocal.”

Meyer – on a year’s hiatus from coaching last season and working with ESPN – said he tried to watch Miller whenever he could and he sensed the same problem. He said it was understandable, though, considering the way the kid quarterback was thrust into the starting job as a freshman. He had come to OSU expecting to spend a year as the understudy to three-year starter Terrelle Pryor.

But when Pryor got caught up in an NCAA investigation, he bolted to the NFL. Little-used senior Joe Bauserman was tapped to start instead but proved ineffective and from the third game on, Miller was taking most of the snaps.

“A kid’s mindset a lot of times is, if (he) wanted to start as a true freshman, (there are) plenty of places that would have taken him,” Meyer said. “And all of a sudden, ‘Bang,’ that’s over. And then you come into training camp and it’s like, ‘Am I ready to do this?’

“He probably would not tell you that, but just being around athletes my entire life, (I know) there’s a little bit of angst as far as if he was prepared to do that. And he didn’t perform as well as he would. True freshmen find it hard to lead. I’ve never had a true freshman come in and lead a team. It’s really hard to do.”

Miller didn’t dispute that: “Oh yeah, I totally agree. I came in as a freshman last year and it was totally unexpected that I was really gonna start. It was hard. It’s hard for upperclassmen to listen to a freshman coming in.”

Although Miller had a decent year, completing 85 of 157 passes (54 percent) for 13 touchdowns against four interceptions and running for a team-high 715 yards and seven more scores, he was sacked 39 times, receivers often dropped balls and the OSU passing attack ranked 115th of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools.

And the Buckeyes – rattled from the start by NCAA sanctions and the ouster of longtime head coach Jim Tressel – stumbled to a 6-7 record, the most losses for an OSU team in 114 years

When he heard Meyer – who had won two national titles with Florida in his six years in Gainesville – was taking over the Buckeyes this season, Miller said his first thought was: “This will be a major change for the Buckeye Nation and it’s probably for the better. Offensive-wise I knew it would be more open. There will be more excitement. He’ll get the ball in the playmakers’ hands.”

And have no doubt, when it comes to the Bucks’ new, fast-paced, spread attack that will be unveiled in Saturday’s opener against the visiting Miami RedHawks, Miller is expected to be the playmaker, so much so that earlier this month, Meyer – who has had both Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin — called him the “most dynamic athlete” he has ever coached.

The other day Meyer said that when it comes to Miller’s evolution as a leader, he’s reminded of his first Florida quaterback, Chris Leak:

“When we got down there he had just finished his sophomore year. He was a very good passer. Not a very good leader. Chris will tell you that. But he became a good leader and won a national championship. This is not to throw Braxton underneath the bus, it’s just what I saw. At the beginning there wasn’t a whole lot of leadership between him and the receivers. But he’s come a million miles. I think he’s fairly comfortable now.”

He’s comfortable, but not content. During preseason practices Meyer has made Miller wear a non-contact, black jersey and not allowed him to run the ball. Most of it is for safety sake, but some of it probably is to get him to concentrate more on his passing.

Meyer has said his quarterback feels like a caged animal now and some teammates agree.

“(Braxton) always talks about it,” Corey Brown said. “He hasn’t been able to run at practice, so when it comes to games now he’ll probably add a couple of touchdowns. I think people will be surprised. He’s a lot smarter quarterback. He’s been studying the game. He’s gotten coverages down. And on the field he’s more vocal. He’s getting people ready.

“He’s turning into a leader right before everybody’s eyes.”

On second thought, it does sound kind of Hulk-like.