Josh Hazelwood studied Neyland stadium grounds crew’s technique to get the checkerboard right.

-- Photographs Provided

Josh Hazelwood wanted to find a way to include his grandfather in the excitement as the University of Tennessee football team prepared to host Alabama in 2022. Both teams were undefeated, and the Vols had a good chance of finally snapping a 15-year losing streak to the Tide.

Hazelwood’s “Papaw Carroll” Horner died in 2021 from cancer at age 78. He was a lifelong UT fan who faithfully supported the athletic teams through all the highs and lows.

Hazelwood remembered seeing pictures of people creating checkerboard end zones of orange and white in front of gravestones and decided to do the same for Horner. Since UT’s memorable upset over the Tide two years ago, it’s become an annual tradition.

“That’s what really inspired me to do it,” says Hazelwood, a Morristown native. “I wanted to get him involved with the game since he couldn’t be here on earth to see it. I wanted him to feel like he was still a part of it all.”

Horner is buried in White Pine Cemetery in White Pine, about 10 miles south of Morristown. Johnny Walker, the caretaker of the cemetery, knew Horner and noticed the checkerboard at his grave site once Hazelwood began painting it.

“We don’t mind a bit,” Walker says. “Where we mow at the cemetery every week, we see it. It looks good. It doesn’t bother us. Matter of fact, I think it’s pretty cool.”

It’s not uncommon to have grave sites decorated with UT-related items, although they are usually smaller things like garden flags, Walker says.

“We don’t have any regulations regarding that,” Walker says. “Just if the grave is heavily decorated, we are not going to hold mowers responsible for that. So they don’t even mow it if it’s heavily decorated.”

Hazelwood’s grandfather, Carroll Horner, was among those honoring Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt after her death.

Hazelwood’s mother is an only child, and Hazelwood and his sister were Horner’s only grandchildren.

Before his first attempt at the checkerboard, Hazelwood watched videos of how UT painted the end zone at Neyland Stadium. He created a scaled-down version with blocks of wood screwed together into squares. He bought orange and white spray paint and did a trial run in his backyard.

The mini-checkerboard at the grave site usually lasts a couple of weeks before fading – if the weather is good. Although he’s never run into anybody while painting, Hazelwood knows people at the cemetery have noticed.

“I was told there was another funeral near where my Papaw was buried when I first did in 2022 and a lot of people saw my work and had positive things to say about it,” says Hazelwood, a registered nurse in one of the cardiac units at UT Medical Center. “That makes me happy. I know there are a lot of UT fans around and I am sure many were like my Papaw.”

Always part of the action

During the 2020 basketball season when fans couldn’t attend games because of COVID, the Vols sold cardboard cutouts of people to populate the stands at games. Hazelwood purchased one featuring his grandfather as a Christmas gift.

“I gave him a little envelope with the information that explained what it was, and he absolutely loved that,” Hazelwood says. “After the season was over, I called UT basketball because he loved it so much and asked if I could have it, and they gave it to me.”

His grandfather proudly hung the cutout in his house until his death, and the family brought it to his funeral to display.

“He lived in Tennessee his whole life and was always a UT fan. Once he returned from serving in the Air Force in his mid-20s, he started going to a lot more UT games,” says Hazelwood, a Carson-Newman University graduate. “I was indoctrinated into UT sports at a young age myself. I was born during the 1998 championship season and my favorite player growing up was Casey Clausen. I even wanted my hair in the front just like Casey Clausen.”

Hazelwood has season tickets for football and takes his wife and mom to nearly every game. Before he makes the trips to Neyland Stadium, he usually visits the cemetery to spruce up Horner’s grave site. It’s his way of helping his Papaw stay connected with the team he loved during a special time in the program’s history.

Hazelwood plans to keep painting the checkerboard “for the foreseeable future,” and may need to pull double duty as he gets older.

“I guess when my dad passes away, I will have to keep the tradition going on for him too,” Hazelwood says. “He’s just as crazy about Tennessee.”