Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin calls Denny Kellington, the trainer who administered on-field CPR, the “savior of my life” in a recent interview.

Hamlin collapsed on the field after a collision with Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins on Jan. 2. The sight of an elite-level athlete nearly dying on the field sent a shock across the NFL and the world.

Denny Kellington administered on-field CPR for nearly 10 minutes and restored Hamlin’s pulse, before the Bills safety was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

“I owe Denny my life. Literally,” Hamlin told “Good Morning America’s” Michael Strahan. “He loves to say he was just doing his job. But… that night, he was literally the savior of my life, you know, administering CPR on me.”

The 24-year-old was initially placed on a ventilator but was discharged from the hospital nine days later.

“If it wasn’t for someone showing up that day with a clear mind and whatever’s going on in their personal life, just to put it aside and just to be present in the moment to actually be able to do their job correctly — that’s something I’m truly thankful for and I don’t take for granted,” Hamlin said.

The first responders who saved Hamlin’s life were recognized with a tribute video at “NFL Honors” before being invited onto the stage.

Hamlin made his second appearance in Phoenix during Super Bowl week Thursday night, paying tribute to those who had a hand in giving him a second chance at life.

“My entire life, I felt like God was using me to give others hope and now with a new set of circumstances, I can say he’s doing what he’s always done,” Hamlin said from the stage at Phoenix Convention Center. “I have a long journey ahead, a journey full of unknowns and a journey full of milestones, but it’s a lot easier to face your fears when you know your purpose.”

The Buffalo Bills safety received the NFLPA’s Alan Page Community Award on Wednesday, a little more than a month after Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati.

He appeared again at “NFL Honors” on Thursday night after the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals training and medical staffs, along with the staff at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center — collectively called “Team Damar” — were recognized.

Kellington also earned a bit of appreciation during “NFL Honors,” receiving a fifth-place vote for the NFL’s MVP award.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.