Many people

have a "brush with greatness" story to tell to family and friends.

Bobby Rashad

Jones did more than brush up against it. He gave it a bear hug.

The Fayetteville

native received worldwide notice as a result of published photos of him

receiving his degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., last

month.

The one on

this page, which originally ran on the front page of a Sunday edition

of the Washington Post, shows his jubilation at graduating and his close

proximity to President George W. Bush, who spoke at the commencement ceremony.

An Associated

Press photo, which ran in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other newspapers,

showed Jones lifting the president off the ground and hugging him after

receiving an autographed golf ball.

Bush commissioned

the gift for Jones because of the young man's status as "anchorman"

the term used at Annapolis to designate the lowest ranking member of the

class academically.

But knowing

how hard it is just to get into the Naval Academy, and how much harder

it is to finish there, Jones could not conceal his excitement on this

special day.

"I didn't

know he was so light," said Jones, who played outside linebacker

for the Academy. "Admiral Locklear [academy commandant] had to calm

me down. He said, 'You don't want to get shot, do you?'"

While undoubtedly

a surprise to many, the incident required no Secret Service action and

was simply an interesting and enjoyable reminder of Jones' graduation.

The son of

Bob and Carolyn Jones of Fayetteville, Bobby graduated from Westminster

School in Atlanta, where he began attending in the seventh grade.

He was recruited

appointment, and got one from U.S. Rep. Mac Collins.

Some of the

highlights of his four-year college football career included playing against

Georgia Tech in Atlanta when the Yellow Jackets featured Heisman Trophy

candidate Joe Hamilton, and the opportunity to face Notre Dame every year.

Jones will

continue his football career in a way, as his next assignment includes

a stint as an assistant coach at the Naval Academy Preparatory School

in Newport, R.I. After six months doing that, he'll spend six months in

surface warfare school at Newport before going to Japan to serve on the

USS Germantown, an amphibious assault ship.

His degree

is in political science, but Jones pointed out that every student at Annapolis

minors in engineering. His education included the customary summer cruises

every midshipman must take, an aspect of Navy life he enjoyed and feels

he has a knack for.

"I want

to see the world," he said. "There's no better way to do it

[than in the Navy]."

As long as

it remains enjoyable and there are opportunities for advancement, he'll

stay there, he added.

Referring to

his stint in Annapolis as "a long, tough four years," Jones

says the academic preparation he got at Westminster served him well, but

there will still be plenty of adjustments to make to military life and

the time constraints involved.

But academy

life seems to be serving the entire Jones family pretty well. Younger

brother Brandon is getting ready to go to the Air Force Academy in Colorado

this fall, where he will play basketball.

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