MOBILE, Alabama -- There's a lot that Colton Cumbie of Monroeville can't say just yet about "Survivor: One World." But you can tell he's having fun not saying it.

“Obviously, it’s been put out there that I’m a villain,” he allows, somewhat teasingly. “So I guess you’ll just have to wait and see exactly what I do in order to earn that title.”

There’s a certain glee in his voice. As well there should be: When the 24th edition of the reality show premieres on CBS at 7 p.m. Wednesday night, Cumbie will be featured as one of the 18 castaways attempting to “outwit, outplay and outlast” the competition on the way to a $1 million prize.

Cumbie didn’t get there by accident. He describes himself as “a hard-core superfan” of the long-running show, which has made household names of many of its most colorful characters.

“As far as preparation for the game, I’ve watched the show since I was nine,” he says. “There was just something about it that really caught my attention.”

“And I remember, I wanted Richard Hatch to lose so bad because I hated him. And ironically now people are comparing me to him.”

That comparison is definitely a double-edged sword. Hatch won the show’s first season, but was a polarizing figure for his habit of nudity and for his merciless skill at manipulating others. In a pivotal moment, one cohort famously compared him to a snake.

Cumbie graduated from Monroe Academy and moved on to the University of Alabama. He’s currently taking a “Survivor”-related break from academics, but says he’s pursuing a double major in public relations and pre-veterinary studies.

I’m a very complex person,” he says of the seemingly random pairing. “I’m one of those people that, I want to do everything in the world. One day I want to be a journalist, one day I want to be a veterinarian, one day I want to be a PR rep. I just have days when I want to be everything. But I’m still young, so at least I have that to my advantage.”

He sent a video audition in to “Survivor” producers in January 2011.

“I’m a very impatient person,” he says. “So I waited like a week and I didn’t hear anything, and I was like, ‘You know what, obviously I’m a star, so let me just get the ball rolling.’ And so I actually reached out to the casting director, and called the person on their phone, and they answered, which was very ironic, because I was informed that they never answered their phone because of stalkers like me who call them. But they said, you know, I was exactly what they were looking for, they loved me. So then the process started rolling.”

Next came paperwork and interviews. He had to wait until last summer for production of the show to begin. According to a CBS publicist, “the game” takes 39 days to play.

What has been revealed so far is that the 18 contenders will be divided into two camps, as usual. In this case, the women will be in one, the men in the other. In a radical departure, the camps will be on the same Samoan beach, allowing for much more communication than usual between the members of the two tribes.

Cumbie describes that twist as “absolute craziness.” It’s one of several factors that guarantee the competitors’ preconceived strategies might avail them little in the actual circumstances of the season.

“I know everything about the game,” Cumbie says. “I can name you the boot order from ‘Borneo’ to ‘South Pacific’. ... If you quiz me and say, who was the fourth person voted out of, you know, ‘Survivor: Thailand,’ I can tell you that was Ghandia Johnson. And I know that’s kind of crazy, but yes. I have a wide knowledge of the game.”

But, as he says, you can ace the LSAT and still make a lousy attorney if you don’t have the practical skills.

“That’s what’s ironic about it,” he said. “You have to be very adaptable to people. Not only to survival, but you have to be adaptable as far as the people you’re living with.

“You know there is probably going to be someone, at least one person, if not more, with a personality that you’re going to butt heads with. And so I think you have to just really either, you have to be able to put up with that person or get rid of that person.”

“The people that I always loved growing up were like, quote unquote, the ‘heroes,’” he says. “And so here I am, I was labeled as a villain, so no, I guess I did not model myself after anyone that I liked.”

The “villain” hint was dropped by none other than Jeff Probst, the host and co-producer of the show, in a preview video. There’s no early indication exactly what Cumbie did to earn the distinction.

“Obviously I can’t say how it went, as far as how I did in the game,” Cumbie says. But again, there’s a certain pride as he says, “The title of villain is not earned without some sort of, something big has to happen, to earn the title and be called a villain.”

The physical hardships of “Survivor,” in which castaways must find much of their own food and build their own shelters, has been problematic for many competitors over the years. Cumbie calls himself a “spoiled” guy who “hangs out in country clubs” and won’t be found camping out, hunting or fishing.

But at the same time, he says, the physical side of it wasn’t too tough.

“I actually gained weight to go. I know I look like the season walrus,” he says. “I actually gained weight to go, so I had a little extra cushion to keep me sustained.”

Whether he’s around long enough to lose the weight, well, that’s one of the questions he can’t answer. But he thinks viewers will enjoy the show.

“I think the thing about our season that makes stand out is, it’s kind of back to basics,” he says. “There is no Redemption Island. When someone’s gone they’re gone, there is no second chance. There is no safety net.”

“As a whole, we’re a very fun group,” he says. “As a fan, I think the best seasons are where the cast has a very diverse group of people and everyone has someone to root for.”

“I feel like everyone has someone they can relate to in one way or another.”