Ahead of Georgia’s bout with Florida on Saturday, Kirby Smart had high praise for the Gators’ quarterback.

Graham Mertz has emerged as a top quarterback in the SEC this season after transferring from Wisconsin. He’s notched 1,897 yards, 12 touchdowns and has thrown just 2 interceptions, leading Florida to a 5-2 start with a couple of big wins already. In his last game against South Carolina, Mertz had 423 yards and 3 touchdowns.

As the Bulldogs prepare to take on Mertz, Smart knows he’ll be facing one of the hottest arms in the country.

“They’ve played their best football, probably the last 2 weeks or so,” Smart said in his press conference Monday. “You look at the statistics on their quarterback, he’s probably maybe the No. 1 quarterback in the country for 2 games, in terms of the way he’s played. You can tell he’s got a lot of confidence in their offense and their system. They’re able to execute, do a lot of things with him, he handles it well, he makes a lot of good run checks for them. Has done a good job of not putting them in harm’s way in his decision-making process, so they’re playing at a really high level right now, and doing a great job with it.”

Georgia will have its hands full containing Florida’s offense. The Gators are coming off 2 wins and a bye week, and are gunning for an upset. The Bulldogs will also have the challenge of playing in the Swamp on Saturday.