Former Saddleback College (Mission Viejo, California) wide receiver and retired Marine Phillip Blanks is being honored as a hero.

Blanks caught a 3-year-old boy dropped from a burning apartment balcony in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 3. He told his hometown paper that he doesn’t want any special recognition for helping save the boy’s life. Blanks credited his training as a marine and security officer for his instincts.

“Ultimately, this is my job,” Blanks said. “It was all fast, it was a blur. It was tunnel vision as I was running. I didn’t see anything but the baby.”

The 3-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl were taken to the hospital with injuries from the fire. Sadly, the children’s mother died, according to ABC15.

Blanks said he is searching for the children in nearby hospitals to try and help any way he can.

“I would honestly like to be involved in the kids’ lives,” Blanks said, “because I know they had a traumatic experience and I know that their lives have changed forever.

“In this situation if I could use this platform to get these kids some help, that’d be great,” Blanks said. “I don’t need any. I don’t want any help or too much recognition for this. I just feel like I was doing my job.”

The video below shows the harrowing scene as Blanks catches the child: