Shark Attack Victim: "All I Felt Was Teeth"

Clayton Schulz told his worried mom nothing would happen when he was surfing -- then something did.

The 20-year-old pitcher for the University of North Florida was surfing with his girlfriend last Friday off Jacksonville Beach when a shark attacked his left foot. It took over 400 stitches to repair that damage.

Pictures: Swimming with the Sharks

On "The Early Show," Schultz shared his story, saying first, he's pretty lucky to still have all five toes.

He said he's lucky the shark reached his foot only.

"Didn't even get into the ankle cavity," he explained. "Tore all the flesh off, cut across the tendons, the four tendons across the top. Tore everything up, so it was pretty -- you know, pretty -- I'm lucky to have a foot still."

The surgery took two doctors five-and-a-half hours to reattach everything except one tendon.

Schulz, a surfer for eight years, said he's heard about shark attacks, but never imagined one coming after him.

He said, "(Sharks are) always there, year-round, you see them jumping in the distance and stuff, but it's never -- you never think it would be you. It's such a rare -- I mean, you're more likely to get struck by lightning, so it's very rare. But you never think it's going to be you."

Schulz explained he was surfing about 100 yards out when he caught a wave in to shore. That's when he felt it: "All I really felt was teeth," he said. "I don't remember everything exactly to the point, but -- a lot of teeth." He said he knew it was a shark.

"I pretty much knew the way it grabbed my foot," he said. "It was kind of violent. Didn't feel good."

After the shark let go, Schulz hauled himself onto his board, stunned.

He said, "I told the others -- there was another surfer there away from me and I yelled to him, I said, 'Man, I just got attacked by a shark, can you help me out here?' He said, 'paddle in.' I caught a wave in. He got the lifeguard. I crawled up on the beach, I waved at my girlfriend. She was laying there. I was like, 'Come on, I just got bit.'"

Jacksonville lifeguards ushered Schulz to an ambulance.

As for the shark, Schulz said no one else saw it after his bite.

Schulz said, "It went through my mind when I was paddling in, 'Is this thing following me?' But, no, never saw it after that. You know, I'm lucky. The surgeons did a great job. You know, when I first saw it after the surgery, it looks like a foot, still looks like a foot and it didn't look like a foot before."

The shark was so elusive, Schulz never even saw it -- he only felt it.

Schulz told "Early Show" co-anchor Erica Hill, "Never saw it. It was completely by surprise. You know, when you think shark, you think, you know, farther out than everybody else, but it was actually more in towards the shore. That's why it really caught me off guard."

Will he surf again?

"Yeah, I think I (will)," Schulz said. "It's a scary thing, but the chance -- if I get (bitten) twice, then -- "

"Then you should look out for the lightning," Hill joked.

Schulz said, "That's the sign I need to get out of the water."