By William Qualkinbush.

It has become more commonplace to see Clemson’s defenders smiling around the football facility during the week this season. Dominance has its perks, and the Tigers’ D is enjoying its run of impressive play.

Football is a game, so players are expected to have fun playing it. During the month of October, the players on the Clemson defense are starting to get bolder in their expressions of exuberance on the field.

Take Tavaris Barnes, for instance. He sacked Syracuse quarterback A.J. Long during Saturday’s game and chose to celebrate by imitating “taking a selfie”—when a person snaps a photo of himself or herself with a cell phone—with Grady Jarrett.

For DeShawn Williams and the rest of the defense, it was an opportunity for a good laugh—even for a moment.

“It’s funny because they were about to run the next play while he was doing it,” Williams said with a grin. “We were like, ‘That’s too long of a celebration.’”

Williams has been caught doing some celebrating this season, as well. According to the senior defensive tackle, after he recorded a sack in the first quarter on Saturday, his position coach—Dan Brooks—told him to act like he’d been there before.

His response: “Coach, I haven’t been there.”

The atmosphere is a far cry from two seasons ago, when Williams remembers the entire defensive front being lumped in together as the “weak links” on a young defense. Now, there are plenty of chances to celebrate as coordinator Brent Venables’ defense continues to elevate its reputation toward elite status.

“Coach (Venables) just lets us have fun,” Williams said. “He lets us let loose on opponents. He was very hesitant at first because he didn’t know what he had, but now he knows what he has.”

What he has now is one of the top units in the country across the board. The Tigers rank within the nation’s top 11 in total, rushing, passing, and scoring defense. Clemson boasts a top-ten defensive unit in both yards per rush and yards per pass attempt, and the Tigers rank 12th in opponents’ quarterback rating.

Venables’ unit ranks third in the nation with 30 sacks and is on pace to lead the nation in tackles for loss for a second straight season. It is the best defense in the country on third down, stopping opponents 77 percent of the time.

All of those things sound enjoyable to players like Williams.

“It’s fun just to go out there and know that our opponent can’t do anything,” he said. “We’re going to stop it, no matter what.”

With four games to go, Clemson’s defensive players should have plenty of additional opportunities to celebrate with one another—although Williams thinks Barnes’ effort on Saturday came up short.

“At the beginning of the season, we all had our celebration things we all planned out. But his, by far,” Williams said with a smile, “he needs to work on it. That’s not too good.”

Venables and company will likely accept the bad celebrations as long as the production on the field reflects a defense that can justify taking a moment to take a selfie.