We're closing in on two months till the opening kick of the 2015 season, which means the preseason awards campaign is in full swing. The latest outlet to heap praise on Notre Dame for this fall is AthlonSports, which named five Irish players to its preseason All-America team:

• Jaylon Smith, second-team LB

• Ronnie Stanley, third-team OT

• Will Fuller, fourth-team WR

• Sheldon Day, fourth-team DT

• KeiVarae Russell, fourth-team CB

It's refreshing to see some love for Fuller, who had one of the more under-the-radar 1,000-yard campaigns you could imagine in 2014. The junior is the leading returning wideout (1,094 yards, 15 TDs last year) on a team that is emerging as a popular preseason pick to make a College Football Playoff run.

You can debate the placements of the others all day and night, though it's hard to argue they don't belong in one form or another, based on past accomplishments. No Joe Schmidt is a minor surprise, but the fact the Irish landed five preseason All-Americans and their reigning team MVP isn't one of them isn't exactly the worst thing in the world, given all of the talent returning this fall.