ATHENS — Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Hall is ready to be back in the middle of the action after watching most of the Bulldogs’ games last season from the sideline while injured.

Hall, a former Top 100 prospect, has overcome surgeries in each leg to repair tibia stress fractures and is ready to showcase his talents and help lead the team after playing just 49 snaps last season.

“I’ve been wanting to play good since I got here, you know what I’m saying?” Hall said on Monday at Georgia’s media press conference in Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall as the Bulldogs continued preparation for their 3:30 p.m. game on Saturday against Marshall.

“So, I have the opportunity to showcase it more now than I did before. I’m just really glad that I’m playing.”

Hall appeared in only six games last season as a reserve on a defensive line anchored by departed veterans Mykel Williams, Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse.

“The standard is always going to be the standard,” Hall said. “Stopping running is always the biggest thing, so that’s not something we were good at last year, we all know that.”

To Hall’s point, Georgia ranked just 36th in the nation at stopping the run (129.6 yards per game), and the Bulldogs were out-rushed in all three of last season’s losses:

• Alabama had 177 yards on the ground to UGA’s 80 in the Tide’s 41-34 win

• Ole Miss gained 134 yards rushing to Georgia’s 59 in the Rebels’ 28-10 win

• Notre Dame rushed for 154 yards to the Bulldogs’ 62 in the Irish’s 23-10 CFP Sugar Bowl victory.

“We want to be better at doing it, (and) I think the mindset is just sending the message to everybody ….,” Hall said. “We’re gonna try to come here and stop the run, be physically imposing and play to our standard.”

Georgia features a potential first-round NFL pick in defensive tackle Christian Miller lining up alongside Hall, while freshman Elijah Griffin is emerging and South Carolina transfer Xzavier McLeod has found his health and is hitting his stride on the interior defensive line.

Kirby Smart is proud of Hall for coming back from the injury and excited about the defensive line’s progress.

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“His resilience pops out at me,” Smart said, noting that it was just one year ago that Hall had to have a rod placed in his leg to help a tibia fracture repair only to find out sooner after he’d need a rod placed in the other leg for the same sort of injury.

“It wasn’t just the injury that set him back; it was the combination of both of those things,” he said. “You’re taking on two guys 25-percent of your snaps (at Hall’s position), so there’s a lot of pressure on those double teams.”

The Marshall game will give Hall and his linemates the opportunity to show just how much their game has improved.

“These guys, they’re going to war every day,” Smart said. “So, striking blocks, getting off blocks, running to the ball. I mean, who you are is on your tape. That’s your resume. It speaks for itself.”

Hall, finally with two healthy legs beneath him, is ready to let his play to the talking once more.