No. 1 NFL draft pick Caleb Williams realizes all eyes are on him and he's embracing the attention

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Caleb Williams seemed unfazed by it all.

The former Southern California star was ready to embrace the attention after the Chicago Bears grabbed him with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. The prized quarterback knows all eyes are on him in a city craving a consistent winner. And to that, Williams said bring it on.

“I’m always going to have scrutiny,” he said at a news conference Friday, a day after the Bears drafted him. “I do things like paint my nails. I’m always going to have scrutiny over that. I wear funky clothes, things like that. So you know. Just do my job on the football field and win games. I think if you win a bunch of games here, you’ll make a lot of people, the majority, happy.”

The Bears have just three playoff appearances since the 2006 team advanced to the Super Bowl. And in two of them, they failed to advance. Chicago's lone Super Bowl champion remains the 1985 team, but there's certainly a buzz blowing through the Windy City.

The Bears look like they might be ready to turn a corner, after going a combined 10-24 in their first two seasons under general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus.

Chicago acquired six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers, giving it another top receiver to go with DJ Moore. The Bears added another potential playmaker at the position when they drafted All-American Rome Odunze of Washington at No. 9. But above all else, they think they have their franchise quarterback.

Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner, has made no attempts to temper expectations. He said recently on The Pivot Podcast that he's chasing Tom Brady's record seven Super Bowl wins.

“What’s the reason to duck?” Williams said. “It’s here. There’s no reason to duck. I’m here. Rome’s here. Keenan Allen, the top-five defense that we had last year, special teams, all the new roles — whatever. We’re here. I’m excited. I know everybody’s excited. The Bears fans are excited from what I’ve heard and seen, and there’s no reason to duck. Attack it head first and go get it.”

Williams acknowledged there might be growing pains. But he insisted he expects to be great right away.

“Why wouldn’t I?” he said. “Obviously if there’s growing pains, you handle them. But that doesn’t mean that affects your greatness. There’s trials and tribulations that you go through. Why would I go somewhere, work so hard for so many years and then in every situation I go to believe I’m the best, and then I get here and I don’t believe that? That doesn’t mean that I go around and boast. That doesn’t mean that I go around and say that. But the way I handle my work, the way I carry myself every day, how I treat my friends, family, teammates, the faculty, the executives here, the custodians, whatever the case may be — treat everybody as they are, we’re all equal and everybody should think that they’re the best when you do things and you work so hard for stuff.”

Williams, who held up a No. 1 jersey on draft night, will wear No. 18 in Chicago. His number at USC — 13 — is taken by Allen.

Williams has a strong arm, an ability to avoid defenders and presence in the pocket. He had 93 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions during three seasons at Oklahoma and USC and captured the Heisman after following coach Lincoln Riley to Los Angeles from Norman.

“He's not scared for greatness,” Riley said. “He's not scared to put it out there. He's not scared to be himself, and I think you have to have that belief in yourself. You have to have that belief in the people around you, and it's contagious. Is is, when a leader or a quarterback feels that way about his team and what they're trying to accomplish.”

Odunze, who led the nation with a school-record 1,640 yards receiving last season, got a close look at Williams the past few seasons.

“It was embarrassing to watch some of the things he was doing to our defense,” Odunze said. “Very special and a very unique skill set. When you watch him play, there are things he can do on the field you don’t see any other quarterback doing. He brings a unique skill set. He’s very confident in the pocket, very confident extending a play, and the play is never over until the whistle is blown, you know that.”

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Chicago Bears No. 1 draft pick quarterback Caleb Williams speaks during an NFL football news conference in Lake Forest, Ill., Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears No. 1 draft pick quarterback Caleb Williams smiles as he listens to reporters during an NFL football news conference in Lake Forest, Ill., Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears No. 1 draft pick quarterback Caleb Williams listens to reporters during an NFL football news conference in Lake Forest, Ill., Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears No. 1 draft pick quarterback Caleb Williams listens to No. 9 draft pick wide receiver Rome Odunze during an NFL football news conference in Lake Forest, Ill., Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears No. 1 draft pick quarterback Caleb Williams listens to reporters during an NFL football news conference in Lake Forest, Ill., Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears No. 1 draft pick quarterback Caleb Williams listens to reporters during an NFL football news conference in Lake Forest, Ill., Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears No. 1 draft pick quarterback Caleb Williams right, speaks during an NFL football news conference in Lake Forest, Ill., Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears draft picks wide receiver Rome Odunze, left, and quarterback Caleb Williams hold up jerseys during a news conference held by the NFL football team in Lake Forest, Ill., Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears No. 9 draft pick wide receiver Rome Odunze, left, and No. 1 draft pick quarterback Caleb Williams, right, hold up jerseys as they pose for a photo during an NFL football news conference in Lake Forest, Ill., Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears No. 1 draft pick quarterback Caleb Williams smiles as he listens to reporters during an NFL football news conference in Lake Forest, Ill., Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces unleashed a nighttime barrage of more than 50 cruise missiles and explosive drones at Ukraine’s power grid Wednesday, targeting a wide area in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called a “massive” attack.

The bombardment blasted targets in seven Ukrainian regions, including the Kyiv area and parts of the south and west, damaging homes and the country's rail network, authorities said. Three people, including an 8-year-old girl, were injured, according to officials.

Russia has repeatedly pounded Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the war that is stretching into its third year and has claimed thousands of lives. By taking out the power, the Kremlin’s forces aim to rob Ukrainian manufacturing of its energy supply, especially military plants, and crush public morale.

The mass barrages also drain Ukrainian air defenses of ammunition as Kyiv’s depleted forces await delivery of the latest batch of promised Western military support. Ukrainian officials have been pleading for more NATO-standard air defense systems, such as Patriots.

Russia pummeled Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the “blackout winter” of 2022-23. In March, it launched a new wave of attacks, one of which completely destroyed the Trypilska power plant near Kyiv, one of the country’s biggest.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has framed the attacks as retaliation for Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries. On Wednesday, a Ukrainian attack hit an oil terminal, injuring five workers and starting a fire, Russia-appointed authorities in the partially occupied Luhansk region said.

Russian bombardments, though frequent, have become less regular in recent weeks, and Ukrainian officials suspect Moscow is stockpiling resources ahead of a major battlefield offensive that could come within weeks.

The 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line has changed little since the early months of the war, but Russia has recently made small but steady gains in some areas as Ukraine battles with a lack of manpower and a shortage of weapons.

In a social media post, Zelenskyy noted that Wednesday’s attacks occurred on the day that Ukraine observes the end of European fighting in World War II and equated Ukraine's current struggle with that conflict.

National electrical grid operator Ukrenergo said facilities were hit in the Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Kirovohrad, Poltava and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.

Two energy facilities were hit in the Lviv region, which is in the country’s far west and distant from the fighting’s front lines, according to regional Governor Maksym Kozytskyi.

DTEK, Ukraine’s biggest private energy supplier, said the attack “seriously damaged” equipment at three of its thermal power plants.

The attack was the fifth in the last six weeks targeting the company’s facilities, DTEK said. Overall, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, the company’s assets have come under attack nearly 180 times, injuring 51 workers and killing three, it said.

Russia launched 55 missiles and 21 Shahed drones overnight, the Ukrainian air force said. Air defenses downed 39 of the missiles and 20 of the drones, Ukrainian air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said.

Russian forces also damaged the railway station building and train tracks in Kherson, national railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia said.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

A woman walks in front of a crater caused by a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)

Flames burn in a crater following a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)

Ukrainian servicemen turn over a damaged car at the scene of a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)

A man looks at the debris of a car following a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)

Police experts inspect the site of a Russian missile attack, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, rescuers work at a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP Photo)