Georgia could be facing the most dangerous version of Florida football of the season with DJ Lagway’s health on the upswing and a renewed vigor in the Gators’ locker room.

Billy Gonzales, Florida’s interim head coach, shared how Lagway has been hitting his stride in practices leading up to the rivalry game against the No. 5-ranked Bulldogs at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.

“I think he’s gotten better and is continually getting better,” said Gonzales, who has seen Lagway lead the Gators to wins in two of their past three games.

“I think practice and having the chance to get back on the football field, and having a group of receivers and a group of tight ends that you’re consistently throwing with, I think that makes everything (better) …. and it has to be full speed.”

Georgia coach Kirby Smart has prepared his team for the best version of Lagway, who he described as a “bright player” with “great arm talent and an ability to process information quickly,” in addition to being “really hard to tackle.”

Lagway has been slowed by injuries since suffering a hamstring injury that sidelined him in last season’s Georgia-Florida game.

Lagway was also limited this past offseason by a shoulder issue and sports hernia.

But Lagway has looked better as this season has gone on, showing more arm strength, improved accuracy and better mobility.

Smart also believes Florida will mix more tempo into its offense.

Gonzales explained how the Gators streamlined the process for Lagway, with QB coach Ryan O’Hara communicating via the earpiece and Steve Spurrier Jr. talking with Lagway on the sideline between series.

Previously, Billy Napier had also been in communication with Lagway, which some felt slowed down the process.

“I think as long as we’re doing what we’re supposed to do, we can get the play relayed a little quicker,” Gonzales explained, “and that will allow our players to play faster.”

Georgia has played some of the faster-paced teams in college football already this season, with Tennessee No. 4 in the nation in seconds per play (21.8) and Ole Miss No. 10 (23.0).

The Vols scored 41 on UGA in a 44-41 overtime loss, while the Rebels scored touchdowns on their first five drives before running out of gas in a 43-35 loss to the Bulldogs.

Georgia’s offense ranks 92nd in seconds to snap (27.2), while the Gators, under Napier, ranked 110th (28.0) out of the 136 FBS teams.

A faster snap rate does not guarantee success, after all, No. 1-ranked Ohio State ranks last in the nation in that department (31.5 seconds), while a 3-5 Florida Atlantic team ranks No. 1.

But tempo does have its place, as it can keep defenses locked into personnel groupings and maintain momentum on drives.

“They’ve used tempo quite a bit this year, and I would expect them to continue to do that,” Smart said at his Monday press conference, “to be in attack mode and try to take advantage of some of the things they’ve seen on tape versus us.”

Smart knows Lagway is playing better than his overall season numbers suggest — a five-interception game at LSU torpedoed Lagway’s pass efficiency rating (127.83 — 15th among SEC quarterbacks).

Gonzales is not concerned with Lagway’s statistics, either, even though he’s improved his completion percentage from 59.9 in 2024 to 65.3 this season.

To the Florida coach’s point, quarterbacks who throw a majority of passes that are of the shorter, safer variety will have higher completion percentages than those who make more throws deeper down the field.

“For us, or any quarterback, you want them to have a high (completion) percentage, but …. you don’t ever want to limit them,” Gonzales said. “You want to take shots and you want to be aggressive. So there’s going to be a little bit of give and take in that.”

Lagway was 20-of-34 passing for 280 yards with two interceptions in his most recent outing, a 23-21 home win over Mississippi State, but he did connect on a 50-yard pass to Vernell Brown lll.

Neither Georgia nor Florida have been especially explosive with deep passes this season, the Bulldogs ranking 118th with just two pass plays of more than 40 yards, while the Gators have four (Ole Miss leads SEC teams with 12).

Gonzales knows Georgia plays a style of defense that makes it hard to hit deep shots.

“They’re going to play two-high shell, they’re going to play man-to-man coverage underneath at times, and then they’re going to bring some fire zone, what we call void zone,” Gonzales said.

“And then they’ll play some man-to-man coverage …. they’ve got their times when they’re picking and choosing when they’re going to bring the pressure.”

Georgia ranks 120th in the nation with eight sacks on the season, but Smart said the Bulldogs have been working hard to put themselves in position to create havoc.

“Third down defense, I’d like to see us get guys in third and long, because we’re pretty successful when we get guys in third and long,” Smart said. “But that starts with first and second down, so it all carries over, and it kind of call bleeds into each other.”