Ex-star college football QB stranded in kayak for hours off Florida: ‘Threw my hands up and screamed’

A former star college football quarterback got stranded in a kayak and spent 11 hours in the Gulf of Mexico several miles off the coast of Florida before being rescued last week.

Alabama native Chris Smelley, 37, who played for the University of South Carolina from 2006 to 2008, took his kayak out in Grayton Beach, Fla., for what he thought would be a short fishing excursion about 8:30 a.m. Thursday, WBRC reported.

But the former athlete, who had embarked without his phone and life jacket, soon encountered heavy winds and was swept out about 8 miles off the coast and could not return to shore.

“I was in a big, heavy kayak. And I got out there and right off the shore, the wind was just whipping and a lot stronger than it was at shore,” Smelley told the outlet.

“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,” he said. “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.”

Smelley’s wife called authorities after she grew worried when he failed to return after several hours.

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office called in the US Coast Guard to help search for the former QB, who is now head coach at Sylacauga High School in Alabama.

As the sun was setting, Smelley noticed helicopters overhead and tried to wave at them, but he was hard to spot because he was wearing dark clothes and his kayak is painted in dark colors.

“I was just kind of in survival mode. I threw my hands up and screamed,” he told ABC News.

The choppers soon spotted him, and a friend with a fishing boat was able to reach to him first, followed by the Coast Guard.

After his rescue, Smelley was checked out by medical personnel and reunited with his family.

“We’re at the beach a lot, and I’ve done a lot of fishing, and I’m real comfortable in the ocean,” he told WBRC. “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.

“So I had just caught a fish and was preparing to clean it to give me some energy to try to keep paddling back in when the rescue helicopter pulled in,” he added.

Sgt. Jeremy Fisher of the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said the kayaker handled the situation well.

“It’s not often that these things turn out the way this one did,” he told ABC News. “Unfortunately, when someone goes out without a life vest and on a kayak, they might come off the kayak and try to swim to shore, and then they don’t have anything to keep them afloat.”

Smelley took to social media to thank everyone for their efforts.

“It’s been a wild 24 hours. God is good! The power of prayer was on display and was definitely felt!” he wrote on X. “The outpouring of support, calls, text messages, comments on social media, I feel so blessed and loved. Sorry I haven’t responded to all. Thank you for all the prayers and love!”

He added that it was “a long day for me, but much worse for my family who dealt with the worst of emotions all day. This was an amazing moment. God bless!!!”

The former college player out of the American Christian Academy in Tuscaloosa said his wife was “a little upset” with him but “in a loving way,” after he went out without a phone and life jacket.

“So I think lesson learned in just understanding that when you’re going out in a situation like that, safety is at the top of your mind,” said Smelley, who emerged from the ordeal with just some sunburn.