HARRISONBURG – Bryan Schor couldn’t help himself. At the time, he could only wonder the worst.

“I was scared,” the James Madison quarterback said. “I thought my season was over.”

JMU was on the verge of clinching an outright Colonial Athletic Association title but had bigger concerns about its postseason future considering the questionable-health status of its junior signal-caller.

Schor, in the midst of a magical year, stood helplessly on the sideline at Villanova. He had his left arm in a sling after absorbing a hard hit during the second quarter.

“When I thought my season was going to be over, I was terrified,” Schor said. “I was having so much fun and I didn’t want to stop playing.”

Through JMU’s game at Villanova, he had accounted for 27 total touchdowns while earning four CAA Offensive Player of the Week honors.

His only goal was to get healthy for the FCS Playoffs, which seemed unlikely to most.

“I held onto the little snippet that my doctor told me. He said I could be back in three weeks depending on how things went and how well I could heal,” Schor said. “As soon as I heard three weeks, I jumped and did everything I possibly could to get back on the field.

“I don’t know if everyone in the locker room thought I was as serious as I was when I said I’d be back when we start the playoffs. I really think they were just ‘yes-ing’ me.”

Less than two weeks after the injury, he was back at practice.

Three weeks after the injury, he threw for five touchdowns to lead JMU to its first playoff win since 2011.

“The fact that Bryan could step back in that position and not have any drop off, there was that sigh of relief from all of us,” JMU running back Khalid Abdullah said. “Bryan is tough. He’s probably the toughest kid I’ve ever met.”

The quick recovery is just part of the story to Schor’s superb season.

On Monday, Schor was named the winner of the Dudley Award, given to the top Division I player in the Commonwealth of Virginia by the Touchdown Club of Richmond.

He is the fourth James Madison player to win the honor in the last four years. Former Dukes quarterback Vad Lee won it in each of the last two years and linebacker Stephon Robertson won it in 2013.

Schor beat out Virginia linebacker Micah Kiser and Richmond wide receiver Brian Brown to capture the award.

“Just look at the guys that have won it in the past – Tiki Barber, Tyrod Taylor and of course, Vad Lee,” Schor said. “It’s a great honor.”

Another layer to Schor’s success is how he handled taking the reigns from Lee.

Lee was a three-time All-American, who had led Madison’s offense to plenty of success.

Schor said he never tried to be Lee. He only did what he was capable of.

“I think one thing I focused on was not talking and not trying to replace Vad or even bringing up that discussion,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t going to replace Vad Lee. I knew I didn’t have the type of skill set that he had. I knew mine was totally different.”

Being himself allowed him to win the starting quarterback job, even when JMU coach Mike Houston brought in South Carolina transfer Connor Mitch to compete for the job during preseason training camp.

Schor said he didn’t let it bother him.

“When Connor came in, I definitely knew I’d have competition and that it would be challenging for me to keep the starting spot and compete each day,” Schor said. “From there I really buckled down and just thought about what I could do get better.”

As the season moved along, Schor kept improving and he said by week three or four, he felt he could take a strong leadership role with the team.

He helped JMU to key road wins at New Hampshire and at rival Richmond. Against the Spiders he threw a game-winning touchdown pass to tight end Jonathan Kloosterman.

“We had adversity in that game and we were down late, but I just knew the entire time that we would come out and win the game,” Schor said. “It’s a weird intuition that you have when you’re down late and driving the field, but I think it’s the signature moment for our team.”

As Schor leads JMU into its national semifinal game at North Dakota State Friday, he’s the nation’s leader in completion percentage (74 percent). In total he has thrown for 2,648 yards and 24 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 534 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“He’s a special player,” Houston said. “He has very good accuracy and velocity on his throws, but the big thing is that he’s a very smart player.

“He understands our scheme and has a very good relationship with his receivers and they’re comfortable with each other and he runs better than anyone thinks, so he can extend the play and he never puts the ball in jeopardy.”