It has an effect, but based on your recruiting strategy it might not be as evident. It's not in the top 3 variables, but if all of those are equal, you'll take a hit. I only really notice it late in recruiting when you're in a battle, or when you're trying to flip an undecided without spending much money. Also, if you're down around a C, and you send out a bunch of AC phone calls early in recruiting, I've seen my flip percentage drop from 10%+ down to 5-7%. It also may have an effect in how many players start recruiting already green, but that sample size is so low I can't say with any certainty. If you jump hard on the recruits you want and blow them away, you'll probably never see an effect.