SAN DIEGO — Jatavis Brown was underappreciated coming out of high school. His dream was to attend Miami, as befits a kid from Belle Glade, Fla., but he instead wound up at Akron.

“People underestimated me,” he said. “ ’Too small. Can’t play linebacker.’ It is what it is. I ended up at Akron, and I don’t regret it at all.”

Brown was underappreciated coming out of college, too, even as the Mid American Conference defensive player of the year and a three-time all-MAC player. Because … well, it was the Mid-American Conference, and there was still that too small label. Thus, the 5-foot-11, 221-pound Brown was not invited to the NFL draft combine last February.

Is it fair to say Jatavis Brown is no longer unappreciated?

The Chargers took him in the fifth round, the 175th player selected this past spring. Six games into his pro career, he is a starter at inside linebacker and the team’s leading tackler, with 41 overall and 29 unassisted. He has five tackles for loss, three sacks, three quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and six passes defensed.

And he made himself known before a national audience last Thursday against Denver, with 14 tackles (13 unassisted) and back-to-back critical plays in the fourth quarter of the Chargers’ 21-13 victory: a 10-yard sack of Trevor Siemian on a first down play, and a forced fumble that Craig Mager recovered on the next one.

Dare we say that Brown, the guy from the mid-major school, may be about to make Manti Te’o irrelevant?

Te’o was the player from the big school with the impressive resume when the Chargers picked him in the second round out of Notre Dame three years ago. He spent a good portion of his first two seasons on the sidelines with injuries, is now on IR with a torn Achilles and by the end of this year will have played 38 of a possible 64 regular season games.

And Teo’s contract is up at the end of this year. Feel free to connect the dots.

Good luck, of course, has a lot to do with good health in the NFL. But Brown has speed (he ran a 4.47 in the 40 at his Pro Day), he has good instincts, and he is a fanatic about preparation.

Chargers coach Mike McCoy has told the story about seeing Brown walking the halls of Chargers Park, his nose in a tablet watching downloaded game video.

True, Brown said.

“It’s a huge part of my game,” he said. “I always feel like I’ve got to overprepare, to watch every little thing.”

He’ll watch during the day, in regular video sessions and also between meetings. And he’ll watch at home, at night, during what might ordinarily be considered down time. He has a notebook that he has filled with his notes and observations.

“Me and (safety) Adrian Phillips watch a whole lot of film here, and then I go home and watch,” he said. “That’s all I do. Football is my life, all out.”

Keeps him out of trouble, right?

It also enables him to find keys, tipoffs and tendencies that allow him to get a split-second jump on the field. Combine that with his speed and quickness, and that translates to making a lot of plays.

How did he hone that speed and quickness? Well, it’s said one of the favorite pastimes for kids growing up in Belle Glade is chasing rabbits. Legend is that Brown caught a few.

“I ask him all the time, ‘Man, explain to me how you catch rabbits,’ ” nose tackle Brandon Mebane said. “A rabbit is not an easy thing to catch. He has some speed.”

Philip Rivers noticed it during training camp, while facing his own defense.

“His speed was the first thing that struck me — him out there trying to cover Danny (Woodhead), covering (Antonio) Gates on routes and Hunter (Henry, the rookie tight end),” the Chargers quarterback said. “I’m going, ‘Goodness gracious, 57’s going to be a stud.’

“The first thing with him, which to me is the top of the list of criteria if I was looking for a football player, is: Does he love football? He loves football. He cares about it. That, along with the other, with his athletic ability and the intangibles he has, (indicates) he can really help us.”

So far, the Chargers’ draft class hasn’t been bad.

First-rounder Joey Bosa has already shown signs of being an impact defender — and are certain members of the front office penitent yet about allowing his holdout to go as long as it did? Second rounder Henry already has 19 catches for 310 yards and three touchdowns, and it looks like the tight end position is in good hands when Gates retires. Punter Drew Kaser has had good days and bad days, and the most recent was a good one, a performance against Denver that earned him AFC special teams player of the week honors.

But maybe the star will be the guy they kept underestimating.

“I’m excited, man,” Mebane said. “I think he’s going to be a good football player.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: jalexander@scng.com

On Twitter: @Jim_Alexander