It’s the final month before National Signing Day. Aside from reviewing the past season and speculating about spring practice, most football talk turns to the final push for recruiting.

Yesterday Pitt added another member to the class. A defensive end.

When it became apparent that George Washington defensive lineman Justin Moody was one of the top prospects in Pennsylvania, coach Ron Cohen rented a van last summer for a road trip.

After several in- and out-of-state stops, Moody forged a relationship with the Pitt coaches, received a scholarship offer and eventually made a verbal commitment to the Panthers on Tuesday.

“It worked,” Cohen said of the trip that included Moody and five teammates. “When he visited Pitt, he got excited.”

Moody, 6-foot-3, 270 pounds, played defensive end and tackle for George Washington, which finished 8-3 in Class AAAA District 12 (Philadelphia) last season.

He had been a Pitt lean for a while (Insider subs), but he finally chose Pitt over Temple, Purdue, Rutgers and Cuse.

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Obviously I did not see that coming. I’m pretty sure no one did. Not like that.

The Panthers came up with a victory they desperately needed Tuesday night when the knocked off No. 19 Georgetown, 73-45, at the Verizon Center. The win came on the heels of two losses to Cincinnati and Rutgers to open Big East play.

Pitt (13-3, 1-2) beat Georgetown for the 12th time in the past 18 meetings. The Panthers won seven of their final nine games against the Hoyas at the Verizon Center. This was the final scheduled game in the series because Pitt is moving to the ACC next season.

The 28-point margin of victory was the second-largest for Pitt in a Big East game. The largest was a 30-point victory at DePaul in 2011.

“We were clicking today,” Pitt senior Tray Woodall said. “We came out and fought hard.”

It was the most-lopsided home loss for Georgetown since a 40-point loss to St. John’s in the 1971-72 season.

“It’s embarrassing,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. “It was very disappointing. I know this isn’t who we are, but tonight was very disappointing.”

It was Pitt’s most complete game this year. They played hard in both halfs. They played defense. They took care of the ball. They worked it around on offense.

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