Cade Klubnik studying Joe Burrow going into senior season

Cade Klubnik wants to put together a senior campaign like Joe Burrow in 2019.

Brandon Rink · Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer · Tuesday, June 10 2025

Cade Klubnik likely got a good look this offseason at some game video Clemson's defensive coaches want to have erased.

Klubnik told reporters down in Orlando recently that his pick for a QB to study going into 2025 was the Heisman and national championship campaign of former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow in 2019.

Burrow capped the season off by throwing for 463 yards and five touchdowns to win the national championship over Clemson.

"From 2019 to be a little more specific, [LSU's] throwing the ball was just -- it was elite," Klubnik said. "Their vertical game and his ability to escape the pocket but remain a passer is something that I feel like I can do pretty well. So that for sure. But yeah, their play-action schemes, their drop-back schemes and the way he would go through his reads, but stay calm in the pocket.

"We share the same quarterback coach. So a lot of the same fundamentals and mechanics that Jordan [Palmer] teaches us, he does it, you know, very, very elite. So I love to watch somebody who's better than me, and I don't want to compare myself to Joe, because he's one of the best in the league, but just the way that he's doing stuff mechanically. I would love to try to be like one day."

Klubnik is the top returning QB by PFF grade (89.3), and he says looked at the college campaign of Bailey Zappe (Western Kentucky) and the pro career of Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs) last offseason.

"[Zappe] had a great year, I mean, I wanted to improve my presence in the pocket, anticipation and just delivery. So I studied him, and I studied just the calmness and coolness of Patrick Mahomes in the pocket. So studied those two guys because that was something I wanted to get better at," Klubnik said.