He’s back.

One of the top special teams players in the National Football League is back in uniform. A Pittsburgh Steelers’ uniform.

Former NIU quarterback Tim Tyrrell dressed for the Steelers’ game Sunday against the Chicago Bears in Three Rivers Stadium after signing a free agent contract with the NFL club last Wednesday.

Tyrrell, listed as a 6-foot-2, 215-pound fullback, joins Pittsburgh after free agent stints with the Atlanta Falcons (1984-86), Los Angeles Rams (1986-88), and Buffalo Bills (1989).

“We’re not really deep in the backfield,” said Steelers coach Chuck Noll. “We lost our second fullback to knee injury, and we needed somebody to come in who is bright and can learn the stuff quickly because we haven’t had him in training camp. He falls into that category as someone who can block for us and help us on special teams.”

Tyrrell starred for head coach Bill Mallory on the 10-2-0 Huskie team that captured the Mid-American Conference title and defeated Cal State Fullerton, 20-13, in California Bowl III during the 1983 season.

Voted the team Most Valuable Player that fall, Tyrrell completed 91-of-186 passes for 1,204 yards and rushed for 539 more yards in his final season. He also received the Jefferson Trophy as the league’s Most Outstanding Player and made Second-Team All-MAC.

In a 1985 survey of NFL players, Tyrrell was selected as the No. 2 special teams performer in the National Football conference. A product of Conant High School in Hoffman Estates, he transferred to NIU in 1982 from Harper College.