I usually do write that when I write a J/S story, that Sawyer is a genius but hides it..I wrote that as a part of Sawyer's backstory in "Cowboys and Angels"

The reason is, I think that Sawyer is underestimated, and with what happened to him as a kid, (he probably had to change schools and or had to live by his wits) no one either knew he was so intelligent other than his parents, or he was never given the chance to show it, or he was even afraid to..or he simply shut down.

No one can run those cons and not be intelligent and the reading that just adds to my theory. *smile*