REGINA — Shont’e Peoples was seeking a new start, looking to go somewhere else to wrestle quarterbacks and his spirituality.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders tried to trade him during the CFL offseason, at his request, but they didn’t find any serious bidders for a 30-year-old defensive end coming off an injury-riddled season in which he had posted two sacks. So Peoples was in attendance Sunday, when the Roughriders opened their 2003 training camp at Taylor Field, vowing to show his detractors he was ready to become one of the league’s top defensive players.

“I’m tired of chasing Joe Montford and Elfrid Payton,” Peoples said about the CFL’s sack leaders the past two seasons.

“I’m the rabbit now. They’re going to chase me. I’m not trying to put a hate on Joe and Swac (Payton), but I pride myself in being a complete player. If I didn’t defend against the run I’d have 30 sacks.”

Peoples has two reasons to believe he can resume being one of the league’s premier pass rushers: He’s healthy, having recovered from troublesome knee surgery and numerous hamstring pulls, plus he has reconciled an inner conflict that began with his religious conversion to Jehovah’s Witness.

Peoples now calls himself an “inactive” Jehovah’s Witness, although he continues carrying a card that forbids him to accept blood transfusions in accordance with his faith.

“I believe everything the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach, and I respect them,” Peoples said.

“This is only my opinion, but you can’t serve two masters — one God who is preaching peace and the other one, football, which is the opposite of peace. When I analyze my last two seasons, I used to have a street mentality, but for the past two years I had a sheep mentality. I wasn’t aggressive enough. My whole career, my mentality has always been my edge. When I lost that, I lost a lot on the field.”

That was evident last season, right up to the Roughriders’ 24-14 loss to the Toronto Argonauts in the Eastern Division semi-final.

In that playoff game, Peoples equalled his regular-season total with two sacks. Afterward, he wanted to sign a longer contract with the Roughriders, but general manager Roy Shivers and head coach Danny Barrett were demanding more from the eight-year CFL veteran who joined Saskatchewan as a free agent in 2001.

Their initial discussions upset Peoples and led to his trade demand, but he apparently withdrew his request during a meeting this spring, when he presented the Roughriders with his new contract proposal.

“Yes, we tried to trade (Peoples) because those were his wishes at the time,” Barrett said. “We talked to a few clubs, but we weren’t going to just give him away and we weren’t going to put him on the street.

“Time cleared up the whole situation. He realized this team was headed in the right direction and he had been a part of it for the past several years. He still has the trust factor with the team and Roy. Those things kick in. You’ll see this young man produce. If he stays healthy he’ll get the recognition he deserves. I would like to see Shont’e be up for the (CFL’s) defensive player-of-the-year. It’s his time now.”

Peoples’ troublesome season even generated criticism from within the organization, some of it public, some of it whispered. Glory-seeker. Won’t practise. Faker.

Peoples heard it.

“I used to not be a practice player,” Peoples said. “When you get older and you get responsibilities put on your shoulders, you get better. As the team goes through transformations and I get older, I can’t rely on my athleticism. Now I’ve got to work harder.

“It wasn’t right for those players to be speaking. I was in my ninth (pro) season. The guys who were talking were on the practice team or had been a two-month player. That just causes dissension and we don’t need that. Veterans are different from rookies. If I’m established and the coach tells me to take it easy for two days to get ready for the game, that’s the way it is. A rookie won’t get treated that way.”

“I’m emotional. I love playing this game. When people say I don’t want to play, that upsets me because that’s not my character. Roy told me he’ll see how I’m doing before we get around to the contract. I love that because this is my job: If they put pressure on me, I won’t pop.”