South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer was hesitant to single out a position group when asked Tuesday if there was one position that had caught his attention for their overall growth with just a few spring practices left.

But Beamer did show some love to his wide receivers, a position group that's heard plenty of outside noise for the past year or so.

It's been abundantly clear throughout the spring that those within the confines of the Cyndi and Kenneth Long Family Football Operations Center have been well aware of the outside criticisms of that group last season.

Both Beamer and new wide receivers coach Justin Stepp have expressed optimism about the receivers this spring.

"I think each day different groups have flashed each day, so it's hard to say just one, I mean I've been impressed, I'll say, with our receivers," Beamer said. "I know they got beat up a little bit from last season and going into spring practice didn't really know what to expect, but just the mentality that they approach every single day with and I think the toughness too."

Earlier this spring Stepp praised the work ethic of his overall group but placed extra emphasis on the leadership he's seen from Dakereon Joyner and Jalen Brooks as the duo has become known for putting in extra work.

Not surprisingly, Beamer mentioned the same two upperclassmen.

"A guy like a Jalen Brooks is battling some things right now but you can't get him off the field," Beamer said. "Dakereon Joyner refuses to miss a rep. You guys saw him out there (Tuesday) in a blue jersey which for us means no contact because he's got a couple bumps and bruises we're trying to take care of. But he refuses to miss and spends a lot of extra time up here. But I've been impressed with those guys at the receiver position and just their desire to get better, which they've shown that each and every day and I think just throughout spring practices there's a lot of position groups that have flashed fairly consistently which I'm excited about."

Brooks and Joyner are leading a group that has to replace the production of Shi Smith, who will be selected in the 2021 NFL Draft next weekend, but that is large in numbers and opportunity.

OrTre Smith is back in the fold after dealing with injuries and opting out last season. Josh Vann has had a productive spring. Ahmarean Brown was a productive receiver at Georgia Tech who transferred in this offseason. Second-year players like Rico Powers and Ger-Cari Caldwell are going through a valuable first offseason in the program. Just to name a few

"I'm really excited about our group," Stepp said a couple of weeks ago. "I know there's a lot of work to be done. They're still trying to figure out how I coach. I'm still trying to figure out how they learn. We learn things about each other every day. I can't say enough about how hard they work. They're a hungry group. They want to be coached hard and they want to improve and make plays, so that's all you can ask as a coach."

Additionally, Beamer added that there's no one position group on the other end of the spectrum either, that he's just seen a lack of progress or production from.

"There's definitely not one group that I look at and say they're not where we need to be," Beamer said. "I mean we all have to continue to get better, don't get me wrong, but no one [position group] that I've looked at and just said it's been bad all spring by any stretch.'