Peoples thankful for chance on offense

Walter Peoples called being moved back to wide receiver late last season "the best day of my life."

It's also worked out pretty well for the Southeast Missouri State football team.

Peoples has taken off in his first full season on offense, leading the Ohio Valley Conference in receptions per game and ranking sixth in receiving yards per game.

Not bad for a guy who spent much of his first two seasons at Southeast in the defensive secondary.

"Walter is really doing good things," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said.

Peoples has 29 receptions for 340 yards, an average of 11.7 yards per catch, through five games.

And those numbers have not been built on a couple of huge performances. Peoples has displayed consistency, catching at least five passes in every game.

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Southeast's Walter Peoples runs the ball against Southwest Baptist University during their game earlier this season.

"I've just been trying to do the best I can to help the team as much as possible," said Peoples, who has scored two touchdowns.

Peoples, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound junior from the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Ariz., played on both sides of the ball in high school, but primarily was recruited as a receiver by Southeast.

Peoples, a member of Samuel's first recruiting class, was moved to defense out of necessity before his freshman season in 2006.

"When I came here, the coaches asked me to play defense. I think somebody in the secondary had just left," Peoples said. "I wanted to play and I made the switch for the team."

Peoples primarily played on special teams and saw limited action in the secondary as a rookie, compiling 11 tackles and recovering a fumble.

Peoples took on a more prominent defensive role last year, starting two games at rover. He was credited with 22 tackles, including 2 1/2 for loss, and broke up two passes.

But about midway through the season, Southeast moved twin brothers Victor and Vincent Anderson from offense to the secondary.

Vincent had been playing wide receiver, so Peoples was switched back to his preferred position.

"I've always liked playing offense better," People said. "When I heard [about the switch to receiver], I definitely had a lot of cheer.

"My mom and dad, when I told them, they could tell how happy I was."

Peoples made his 2007 receiving debut against Tennessee-Martin in the eighth game of the season. He had two receptions for 17 yards and finished the year with five catches for 69 yards and a touchdown.

Peoples matched last year's reception total in this season's opener, grabbing five balls against Southwest Baptist as the Redhawks rallied to win in overtime.

He caught eight passes for 80 yards in the next game, at Missouri. He was a major bright spot in the 52-3 loss.

"It was great," he said of his performance against the Tigers. "My family got to watch [the game was televised on a pay-per-view basis] and they were really excited."

Peoples has totaled 17 receptions in the last three games, including a key 30-yard catch Saturday at Indiana State on Southeast's final drive that led to the game-winning touchdown with 42 seconds left.

"He's catching the ball well and he's running well after the catch," Samuel said. "He's making a lot of big plays for us."

More big plays than Peoples could have imagined.

"To be honest, I told [quarterback] Houston [Lillard] I wanted 25 catches," Peoples said. "Now that I already have more, I'm hungry. I want to keep going."

Lillard, who already has thrown for more than 1,200 yards, said he is not surprised by Peoples' rise as a receiver.

"He came over [to the offense] late last year and you could see his athletic ability," Lillard said. "With an offseason to work and get better, I knew he could produce."

As far as catching passes goes, Peoples has had some pretty good players to emulate.

Peoples said he followed the Arizona Cardinals closely while growing up, and in high school became friends with their star receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald.

"Anquan sponsored my school," Peoples said. "He would work with me and he and Larry came to some of my games. Anquan helped me a lot. We still talk."

Peoples said he chose Division I-AA Southeast after receiving partial scholarship offers from several Division I-A programs. He doesn't regret the decision.

"SEMO felt like a good fit and the coaches were great," said Peoples, who is deciding between a major in education or recreation and eventually would like to coach. "I like it. It's a smaller town, you can be yourself.

"I'm learning a lot, being 1,600 miles away from home."

Peoples has been a major part of a Southeast passing attack that leads the OVC and ranks 18th nationally with an average of 267 yards per game.

That's a far cry from Samuel's first two seasons at Southeast, when the Redhawks lagged toward the bottom of the OVC passing statistics.

"We're all clicking this year," Peoples said of the Redhawks' air attack. "Look at all the guys we've got with 20 catches."

Peoples leads the team with 29 catches, while Brad Stewart and Michael Williamson have 20 apiece and Miles Edwards has 19.

Peoples knows he, Lillard and the rest of the offense will need to be on top of their game for the Redhawks to have a chance at pulling off a major upset in their next outing.

Southeast (2-3, 0-1 OVC) visits 22nd-ranked Jacksonville State (3-1, 1-0) on Saturday night.

"We'll have to play well, go out and execute," Peoples said. "Both teams will be hungry."

About as hungry as Peoples was to move back to wide receiver.