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Patrick Willis

Patrick L. Willis (born January 25, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for his entire eight-year career with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels, earning consensus All-American honors in 2006 and was selected by the 49ers in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft. Willis is regarded as one of the greatest linebackers in NFL history. During Willis's 2006 senior season at Ole Miss, he received the collegiate version of the Butkus Award and the Jack Lambert Award as the nation's top linebacker. A year later as a member of the 49ers, Willis led the NFL in tackles, earned first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors, and was named the 2007 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Willis made the Pro Bowl in his first seven seasons and earned All-Pro honors in his first six years in the NFL. Willis won the professional version of the Butkus Award while with the 49ers in 2009. His career accomplishments culminated with being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024.

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Article summary

Patrick L. Willis (born January 25, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for his entire eight-year career with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels, earning consensus All-American honors in 2006 and was selected by the 49ers in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft. Willis is regarded as one of the greatest linebackers in NFL history. During Willis's 2006 senior season at Ole Miss, he received the collegiate version of the Butkus Award and the Jack Lambert Award as the nation's top linebacker. A year later as a member of the 49ers, Willis led the NFL in tackles, earned first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors, and was named the 2007 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Willis made the Pro Bowl in his first seven seasons and earned All-Pro honors in his first six years in the NFL. Willis won the professional version of the Butkus Award while with the 49ers in 2009. His career accomplishments culminated with being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024.

Key claims

  1. date of birth: 1985-01-25 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of birth is "1985-01-25". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

No sources recorded.

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.