Only recruit players with high awareness or high play recognition, this kind of means you're smart.
And not to be rude or disrespect anyone's city, but you could look at where the player is from, see if he went to an inner city school or a suburb, and possibly weigh the suburb heavier with a "better school system"
Not saying inner city kids are idiots, just an idea to limit prospects.
Lastly, only recruit players who when you look at their top 3 interests, only recruit players who are A or A+, that way you know they care about grades and academics.