Marine who played wide receiver in college catches boy thrown from burning building by his mom

A former Marine and college wide receiver was able to catch a three-year-old boy thrown from burning building by his mother, dramatic cellphone footage shows. 

Phillip Blanks, 28, ran to the home in Phoenix on July 3 barefoot after hearing calls for help and was able to save the child from the flames on the third floor balcony. 

He told ABC it was all  ‘instinct’, adding: ‘There wasn’t much thinking. I just reacted. I just did it.’

The boy’s 30-year-old mother died in the blaze. Blanks said: ‘She’s the real hero of the story because she made the ultimate sacrifice to save her children.’ 

Blanks, who now works in the security industry, is a former wide receiver and said the boy was ‘twirling in the air like a propeller’ as he fell. ‘I know how to catch. I’ve learned how to catch a football’, he added

Blanks, who now works in the security industry, was a former wide receiver at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. 

He said the boy was ‘twirling in the air like a propeller’ as he fell. 

‘I just did my best. His head landed perfectly on my elbow’, he added,  ‘I know how to catch. I’ve learned how to catch a football. So I’ll give some credit to football.’

Phillip Blanks, 28, ran to the home in Phoenix on July 3 barefoot

The clip begins showing the raging fire on the third floor balcony of the home. 

Blanks runs into shot as the boy is thrown from the apartment. He dives to the ground and manages to catch the youngster just before he hits the ground. 

He then runs from the scene with the child in his arms. 

Onlookers are heard urging his mom to safety. 

The boy and his eight-year-old sister were taken to hospital with burns, along with another woman, but are expected to survive.