I'd just say that the cash involved between D3 and D2 makes this situation even more prohibative. Say he COULD get him, it would cost him more than I personally think it would be worth... 9k is nearly 1/2 his money. Not sure of the quality of the recruit, but even if he were to get on him, I'd question the value of said recruit for that kind of money.
Jumping on what, gil said, the sim is a C-, not a D-, and he is an A not an A- so we are talking about more than two letter grades and much less cash. But you do have more experience recruiting at that level, so I'll gladly defer to your expertice.
Bhandsalid
a. More scholarships do not affect a recruit, just gives you more cash to play with. You are at 6 scholarships, which is the maximum amount for which you would get recruiting money. Anything over 6 doesn't add more cash.
b. Starts and minutes do help, but generally only provide benefits in close battles. They ARE cheap, so throwing them out early doesn't hurt, but with the new engine, the recruits won't take some promises until recruiting has reached a certain level.