Jordan Lynch, former NIU Huskies quarterback and Chicago native, signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent May 10.

Lynch wasn’t among the 256 players selected in the 2014 NFL Draft May 8 to 10, as fellow teammates Jimmie Ward and Ken Bishop were the only two Huskies picked in the 2014 NFL Draft. Ward was drafted at No. 30 by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round, and Bishop was chosen at No. 251 by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round.

Lynch said throughout the draft process he is willing to switch positions but is first and foremost a quarterback. That aspect, combined with how deep the draft was considered to be, were likely the main reasons Lynch failed to find a suitor willing to use a draft pick on him.

Lynch led the Huskies to a 24-4 record in two seasons as a starter, but he finished with a 1-3 postseason record. He posted a 12-0 road record, an 11-0 record at Huskie Stadium and a 1-4 record at neutral sites.

Lynch finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting following the 2012 season and placed third in voting for college football’s top award following the 2013 season.

At NIU, Lynch completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 6,209 yards and 51 touchdowns, being picked off 14 times. He rushed for 4,343 on 662 carries (6.6 yards per carry) and 48 touchdowns.

The Chicago Bears had quarterbacks Jay Cutler, Jordan Palmer and Jerrod Johnson on their website’s roster prior to the draft. They drafted San Jose State Spartans quarterback David Fales with the 183rd overall pick in the sixth round and signed Lynch as an undrafted free agent.

Phil Emery, Chicago Bears general manager, had high praise for Lynch – as a running back.

“I think he’s a really fine runner,” Emery said in a news conference streamed live on chicagobears.com. “I think the fact that he can throw and throw with accuracy in the short area is good, too. I think that you want as many athletes who can do as many things as possible, and he certainly presents options that way.

“But the thing that I was really impressed with … [is] just his skill as a runner. He’s got a great set of eyes. He’s very instinctive, especially for a quarterback, between the tackles. He just knows where to find the soft spots and take that little side step and keep grinding forward and keep working forward while he’s making those moves. He has really good contact balance. He doesn’t go down easy. I like all those things.”