College football star reveals how he survived 11 hours stranded in the Gulf of Mexico and says fear didn't sink in until rescue helicopters failed to spot him

A former college football star was rescued after he was stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for 11 hours on his kayak after rescue helicopters initially missed him. 

Chis Smelley, a former quarterback for the University of South Carolina, went out alone to fish off the coast of Grayton Beach, Florida, around 8.30am on Thursday when he drifted about eight miles from shore. 

Smelley, 37, told WBRC that the 'whipping' wind was a lot stronger in the water than he had anticipated.

'My body was sitting up tall and I was basically just a big sail. I was giving it everything I could and there was a long period of time where I was at the mercy of the wind,' he said. 

After his wife started to worry, she called the Walton County Sheriff's Office who set out on an urgent search for him, along with the U.S. Coast Guard and officials from Florida Fish and Wildlife. 

Smelley, who said that he's 'real comfortable in the ocean' had just caught a fish when he noticed just how far he veered off. 

'I wouldn’t say I was necessarily scared, but there was sometimes where, especially as the sun started going down, and I had seen the rescue helicopters fly over me pretty close by a few times but they didn’t see me, that I thought I was going to spend the night in the ocean,' he said.

He was wearing dark clothing inside of his dark blue kayak, which made it harder to see him. 

Just before the helicopters came back around and finally spotted him, Smelley said that he was about to clean the fish that he caught in an attempt to give him enough energy to get back to shore on his own. 

Video of the rescue shows Smelley in the middle of the water on the small boat as he tries to wave the rescuers down. 

Once they saw him, a shot from inside of the helicopter shows a man gearing up just before he lowers down into the water to save Smelley. 

After he was saved, Coast Guard officials brought him back to shore where he was given a medical evaluation. 

Though he was out in the water for hours on end, Smelley was not dehydrated or injured, but was left sunburnt. 

A picture of law enforcement vehicles were also seen on shore after he was rescued. 

Smelley, who is now a head football coach at Sylacauga High School in Alabama, said that he has learned his lesson after he admitted that he went out in the water without a life jacket or a phone. 

His wife was glad that he made it home that evening but was a bit upset with him, 'in a loving way.' 

Smelley said that he was tempted to go out fishing the next morning, but decided against it. Him, his wife and his kids still plan to visit the beach that has become a family favorite spot over the years. 

'I wish there was a story that a giant shark dragged me out or I was battling a sea monster – but it was really just nature – it was just the wind,' Smelley jokingly said. 

He played for the South Carolina Gamecocks from 2006 to 2008 and also played baseball for the University of Alabama from 2009 t0 2010.