Alabama A&M: Mason says poor start is the players' fault

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -If Alabama A&M is going to turn its season around, quarterback Deaunte Mason says it is up to him and his teammates to do it.

Mason said Monday during a session with the media that coach Anthony Jones and his staff have done a good job of putting together good gameplans, but the Bulldogs haven't carried them out well enough to win games. As a result A&M is 0-2 and is in danger of falling to 0-3 for the first time since 2008.

"We've done a lot of things to stop ourselves," Mason said. "It'll stop once we find some leaders on the team. It's nothing that the coaches are doing. They're calling the right plays and putting us in the right situations. We've got to make plays and we haven't done that the first two games.

"My teammates and I haven't been able to make the plays that need to be made to help us win."

Mason is hopeful things will turn around starting Saturday when Tuskegee comes to town for the second annual Louis Crews Classic. Kickoff is 6 p.m. and the game can be heard on 90.9 FM.

A&M built a 17-0 halftime lead against Hampton in its season opener before losing 21-20. The Bulldogs fell behind 21-3 last Saturday at Southern, but outgained the Jaguars in the second half and kept them off the scoreboard, but couldn't overcome the early deficit.

While Mason dislikes losing, he hasn't given up on this season or this team.

"There's still a high upside for this team," he said. "We can still have a great season. We can still accomplish our goals."

To do that, inside linebacker Denzell Cotton says the Bulldogs have to win Saturday.

"No team wants to start 0-3," said Cotton, who led A&M with a career-high seven tackles against Southern. "We've got to make this one count. If we can win, it'll give us the momentum we need to turn things around."

Jones, 3-10 in his last 13 games dating back to last season, was appreciative of Mason's comments, but said he's got to find a way to get more out of his players.

"I've got some special players and Deaunte is one of them," he said. "He sees the film. He sees what we're doing and not doing. I've got to push another button. I'm thinking they're there, but we're not.

"When you focus is not there, when you forget a play or don't run as hard as you should it just kills you. When we're put in situations we've got to step forward and make plays. If we don't we don't like the results and that's what has happened our first two games."

A&M heads back to practice today to prepare for Tuskegee and Jones says things will be different.

"I've got to find a way to make practice harder than the games," he said. "The only thing I can't simulate in a game is the exactness of the other team's plays, their level of speed and intensity and the energy of the crowd, but I've got to make the preparation harder than the game and that's what I'm going to attempt to do to get things turned around."