Let’s play word association.

Utah State running back Robert Turbin?

"Freak of nature," said Hawaii quarterback Jeremy Higgins, Turbin’s teammate at Utah State last year.

"Biggest biceps I’ve ever seen," said USU linebacker Bobby Wagner, who goes against Turbin every day in practice.

Indeed, the face of Utah State football should be gracing the cover of Men’s Health magazine.

While his feet have created statistical feats this season — 117.9 rushing yards per game, 6.6 yards per carry — many have marveled at his Marvel Comics physique. That is only fitting for a player whose childhood hero was The Hulk.

"As a kid, you always wanted to grow up to be big and strong," said Turbin, whose Aggies play UH on Saturday at Aloha Stadium. "The Hulk had muscles everywhere. He was strong. He was fast. He was an unstoppable force. I wanted to be like him. When The Hulk (cartoon) came on, I made sure I did some extra push-ups before I went to sleep at night. I wanted to be The Hulk."

For as long as he can remember, Turbin, who is 5 feet 10 and 216 pounds, exercised daily. His older brother implored him to do push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups.

"It became a habit when I was a kid," Turbin recalled. "When he wasn’t around, I did them, anyway, especially after watching the cartoon."

Turbin did not begin lifting weights until he was a freshman at Irvington High in Fremont, Calif.

He developed his biceps with triple-digit push-ups without a break. A USU conditioning coach estimates Turbin’s biceps at more than 20 inches.

Turbin, who has never measured his biceps, said it is difficult to find comfortable shirts in Logan, Utah.

"Out here, depending on the style, they usually go no higher than an XL," he said. "Sometimes I need a 2X or 3X."

After a breakout sophomore season in 2009, when he rushed for 1,296 yards and 13 touchdowns in 12 games, he suffered a knee injury in January 2010.

There was debate whether to return by the middle of the 2010 season. Instead, Turbin opted to sit out the year. The hiatus enabled him to fully rehabilitate the knee, learn how to better read defenses (he was on the travel roster for nonconference games), and to work out.

Teammates insist Turbin has regained his speed (4.5 seconds over 40 yards) and is running with, well, Hulk-like fury.

"He’s an incredible back," Wagner said. "He can juke you or run you over."

Turbin said he has not decided whether to forgo his senior season and apply for the 2012 NFL Draft.

"My focus has been on Hawaii, and finishing out the season," Turbin said. "For the time being, it’s all about college football."