Earlier in the season, calls for highly-touted freshman quarterback DJ Lagway to see the field were mostly out of curiosity. The Florida Gators had a returning veteran starter in Graham Mertz, but the promise of Lagway couldn't be ignored. Not long after Mertz was sidelined with a season-ending knee injury and Lagway had begun to earn the starting job, the 19-year-old freshman suffered what appeared to be potentially an equally devastating injury.

Fortunately for the Gators, DJ Lagway's hamstring injury against Georgia wasn't as serious as it was initially feared to be, and now after missing just one game, it looks like he may be able to give it a go in a crucial home game against the LSU Tigers on Saturday afternoon.

“DJ continues to improve,” coach Billy Napier said Wednesday on an SEC teleconference call, per Thomas Goldkamp of On3 Sports. “I think we’ve seen progress every day and I think that’s allowed him to participate more in practice. Obviously we’re kind of controlling that environment, but in general I think we continue to trend in the right direction.”

Getting Lagway back on the field this Saturday would be pivotal for a Gators squad that is facing an uphill battle to earn bowl eligibility. Florida is currently 4-5 on the season and needs to get to six wins to avoid what would be their first time missing out on bowl games in consecutive seasons since 1986. Against an LSU defense that has had trouble with mobile quarterbacks this season, unleashing a healthy Lagway in the Swamp could spell trouble for the Tigers.

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“I think obviously given their structure and the way they play defense, obviously one of the ways to neutralize that is to use the quarterback [in the running game], right?” Napier said.

However, Billy Napier won't be too eager to put his star freshman in harm's way, especially since his job is apparently safe.

“Obviously our situation’s a little bit different, but overall we’re going to do what we need to do to manage DJ and his injury situation.”

On the season, Lagway has completed 61 percent of his passes for 1,071 yards, throwing for six touchdowns and five interceptions. He's also rushed for 114 yards. In order to earn bowl eligibility, the Gators will need to win two of their final three games. Their opponents are LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State.