Jeff Limping Into The Sunset

(CBS)  For the third week in a row on "Survivor," the island gods did not smile on the Ulong tribe. Despite poisonous snakes, killer sharks, and a lack of food, the team was done in by a coconut.

Jeff Wilson stepped on a coconut and injured his ankle, which was weakened last year when he was hit by a truck. He asked his tribemates to vote him off, and they obliged.

"It was my fault, and I have no one else to blame," Wilson tells The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "I can't have any regrets other than the fact it happened."

Though he is back to normal now, the 22-year-old personal trainer from Ventura, Calif., says it took a while for his ankle to heal. In essence, he says, he made the right decision when he asked to be taken out of the game.

"Even now, I'd say that was the right choice," Wilson says, "Every challenge we'd done up to that point had been strength, and carrying the weight over my shoulders wasn't going to happen for me. And it wasn't going to happen the next time."

So he decided to face his tribe and be frank with them. "At that point, it really was a team effort, and if I were to sit back and say, 'Hey, listen, I'll do my best,' knowing it will end soon anyway, know what I mean?"

He did, however, have his time to shine, showing off his strength battling none other than New York City firefighter Tom Westman in the reward challenge.

"We had a good time," Wilson says. "We shook hands before and shook hands after. Tom's a great guy and being able to go up against him and beat him felt real good."

His strategy?

"I let him swim out and get tired. I just let him struggle and I wore him down. It was great fun," Wilson said in a pre-interview.

Some say Wilson's strategy for the game was snuggling with Kim Mullen. But he says his intentions were not to recreate another alliance like that of Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich of "Survivor: All Stars," and end up like them.

"We weren't building alliances; we were building a friendship," Wilson says. "Those weren't my intents. In the fullness of the time, I guess it could be."

Asked if he is still in touch with her, Wilson just answers with an, "Uh-huh."

Perhaps she will be next to go. At tribal council, she looked vulnerable as well. Interestingly, Wilson says at the beginning of the game he thought his team had it made since it was composed of young and strong players, compared to Koror's mature players.

That, unfourtunatelly, hasn't been the case. This is Ulong's third consecutive time at tribal council.

"It blew us all away," Wilson says. "There's a lot to be said for smarts."