TYLER -- The Tyler Lee Red Raiders would like to forget most of last year's 1-9 season, but there's one thing second-year coach Darrell Piske wants to make sure they remember.

"Nobody's going to feel sorry for us," Piske said after his team's first practice of the 2013 season Monday morning. "We've got to get out of the mindset of feeling sorry for ourselves, whether we're conditioning or competing for a position. We've got to get it on every day and work as hard as we can work."

Tyler Lee linemen go through drills during the Red Raiders' first practice of the season Monday morning in Tyler. (Christopher R. Vinn, ETSN.fm)
Tyler Lee linemen go through drills during the Red Raiders' first practice of the season Monday morning in Tyler. (Christopher R. Vinn, ETSN.fm)
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Piske was generally upbeat after getting his first look at the Red Raiders.

"The effort was good, the numbers are up," he said. "They paid attention, they locked in the whole time; no jacking around in the back or anything. I thought that was the biggest thing."

Lee is moving to the spread offense in 2013 after years of being based out of pro-set formations with a heavy emphasis on the running game. Piske voiced initial concerns during spring practice about finding enough depth at the receiver position, but those worries have been put to rest for the most part.

"On the offensive side it's not as bad as the defensive side," Piske said of developing depth at the skill positions. "Offensively, I think we'll be fine depth-wise."

Tyler Lee receivers go through pass-catching drills during the Red Raiders' first day of practice Monday morning in Tyler. (Christopher R. Vinn, ETSN.fm)
Tyler Lee receivers go through pass-catching drills during the Red Raiders' first day of practice Monday morning in Tyler. (Christopher R. Vinn, ETSN.fm)
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Piske is also high on his 2016 class, which fared well down the stretch of last season as freshmen. The class features potential starting running back Tavon "Smiley" Wesley (5-11, 185).

"They all looked good," Piske said of his incoming group of sophomores. "That's a good group, just making them understand they've got to compete. They're behind a little bit physically just because of the weight situation at the lower levels that we'll have to fix. Once we can catch their bodies up, they can play."

One of the biggest battles during the preseason will be the one for starting quarterback. The three fighting for the job are senior Raleigh Poster, junior Trevor Carr and sophomore Zachery Hall.

Carr handled the QB duties during Lee's run to the state 7-on-7 tournament over the summer, while Poster got most of the reps last season.

"He looked good, he threw the ball good and all that, and looked like he ran pretty well," Piske said of Poster. "Again, shorts and T-shirts … nobody's fixing to hit him in the mouth. We'll find out when we put pads on Friday and really that's when they'll start separating from each other."

Lee scrimmages Marshall at Rose Stadium in Tyler on Aug. 22 before beginning the season Aug. 30 at Sulphur Springs.

Tyler Lee quarterback Trevor Carr reaches back to throw during the Red Raiders' first practice of the season Monday morning in Tyler. (Christopher R. Vinn, ETSN.fm)
Tyler Lee quarterback Trevor Carr reaches back to throw during the Red Raiders' first practice of the season Monday morning in Tyler. (Christopher R. Vinn, ETSN.fm)
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