Is recruiting the Poly community really just about having a recruiter with ties? I would say that there isn't a "culture" at CU that welcomes these young men. We have no "Ohana" for them to be welcomed into anymore.
When Cabral (and others) were here they had built a community that welcomed these guys. He would have them over to eat dinner, mingle with other Polynesians in the Boulder community, students, etc. If you know anything about Utah or Washington you know what investment the school, team, coaches, and community make to make those kids (and their families) feel comfortable in their new surroundings.
I would argue that after Cabral left, we kept on recruiting Poly areas with some recruiters with connections but we had many bad off the field incidents because there was no Ohana surrounding those guys and they didn't fit in well.
Of course, you can always find some that don't want that for their college experience; but by and large I would say the places with the most success in Poly recruiting figured this out.