Did he reject the start, or accepted it and you got that message? Because I believe recruits don't accept starts if you are behind in the battle. Although it's possible that's just minutes. If he rejected it, don't get discouraged from that message alone. You just need to get the battle closer to make the start acceptable.
It's also definitely possible you are just beat and should stop recruiting, I don't have all the details. And if the WOTS says he's tight with the sim, at DIII, you need to move on.