FRISCO, Texas — Cardon Johnson watched the last one just like a fan.

Out since mid-November with an Achilles injury, James Madison’s junior running back went to his favorite restaurant in Harrisonburg and surrounded himself with fans donning purple and gold.

It’s where he watched his teammates upend five-time defending national champion North Dakota State in Fargo, N.D., on Dec. 16.

“I was with one of my good friends and we went to O’Neill’s Grill because they were having a watch party,” Johnson said Thursday at Toyota Stadium — the site of Saturday’s FCS national championship game between fourth-seeded JMU (13-1) and Youngstown State (12-3).

“That night, I had the large bacon cheese fries and then the Thumbs & Toes wings, the 12-count,” he said while leaning on his crutches. “There were a lot of fans in there and we actually sat with a few a few of them. It was an enjoyable game.”

As happy as he was to see his teammates pull off the historic upset, he said he’s happier to be with them in Texas as Madison aims for its second national title and first since 2004.

Johnson carried the ball 114 times for 704 rushing yards and eight touchdowns this season before the pain became too much for him to try to play through even as the coaching staff limited his touches. Against Rhode Island he only had three carries, two of which went for touchdowns. The following week at Richmond, the Spiders limited him to just 30 yards on eight carries or 3.75 yards per carry, which was more than 2 yards below his per-carry average on the year.

“Going into the ninth game, Villanova, I had concerns, not just about the rest of the season, but next season, too” Johnson said. “It came to a point when I talked to [running backs] coach [De’Rail] Sims and coach [Mike] Houston. We sat down and discussed some things. We talked about me giving as many carries as I could handle and that it’d be valuable, but we were all concerned about next year. It was something else we had to look forward to. And then, I think it came to crunch time and everyone just didn’t see the same Cardon Johnson that you had seen in the previous games.”

The decision was made for the Newport News native to shut it down and he had surgery on Dec. 6 at 8 a.m. The timetable for recovery is six to eight months.

“It was a worried feeling because I know how severe an Achilles injury can be,” he said. “I suffered an Achilles rupture, my whole tendon came off in 2014, and I don’t think a lot of people know that.

“You just have to take your time and really prepare yourself to strengthen it back up. That was one of my concerns during the surgery process and is one during the recovery process. I need to be able to build back up, so I’m fully healthy to go out and produce how I want to.”

Johnson said his goal is to return in the summer and be at full strength in time for when JMU begins fall camp in August.

For now though, he’s ready to root on the Dukes from the sideline Saturday when they kick off at noon against the Penguins.

“It’s hard not being able to be out there to produce and not being able to play,” he admitted. “But once you realize it’s not all about you and it’s more of a team environment, you become aware that you can still be happy. There’s never a point where I’m sad or down all the time. I live through these guys.”

His teammates are glad he’s back with them.

“He’s down right now, but he’ll be back full strength,” junior left tackle Aaron Stinnie said. “He’s an amazing guy and with him down here now, it’s a great experience because he’s over our shoulders talking to us and getting our minds right. It’s just the type of guy he is.”

Johnson said he’ll be telling running backs Khalid Abdullah, Trai Sharp and Taylor Woods what he sees from his vantage point on Saturday.

“I’ll be telling Trai to hold the ball,” Johnson said. “Khalid just has to do his thing and Taylor Woods the same when he’s out there, if we got the wildcat going on.”

Abdullah said JMU is also playing for Johnson.

“Absolutely,” Abdullah said. “I just hope his health gets back right because he’s a fantastic and amazing player. The fact that he’s been down and out hit us hard, but he’ll come back.”