Under Armour not only makes gear for virtually any activity, but also outfits college teams. The University of Utah announced in March it had switched from Nike to Under Armour as its supplier. Utah is the seventh football program to sign with the company, along with Auburn, Maryland, South Carolina, Texas Tech, Hawaii and South Florida.

"Kevin has never failed," says Fitzsimmons.

His friend "used to take the Metro to RFK Stadium for Grateful Dead concerts and cook grilled cheese sandwiches on a hibachi and sell peace shells."

He also sold roses by the roadside during prom week.

That was when he was 15.

"Everything this guy has done has turned to gold, from his playing career to his entrepreneurship at 15 to Under Armour. It doesn't rain on Kevin — unless he wants it to," continues Fitzsimmons.

Rather than give Plank the 10 grand, Fitzsimmons' mom gave her son the money to start a bar. He ended up selling to other investors, who then turned it into a thriving, multi-location enterprise. Then there was the Chili's opportunity his father-in-law ignored. For a $25,000 investment, he could have helped launch one of America's most successful restaurant chains.

Still, you won't find Fitzsimmons complaining. Even before landing at Football Central, he loved where he worked, including the stop in Salt Lake.

"I never wanted to leave," he says. "The mountains, the fly-fishing, I still get chills thinking about it."

But KFAN decided to change directions, so Fitzsimmons moved on to Dallas, then back to Birmingham, where he has Alabama and Auburn in his backyard. He and his wife, Katherine, are expecting their second child.

Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide is on its way back, and Auburn never left.

"We're in heaven," says Fitzsimmons. "The SEC is college football Mecca, the best conference in the country, and my passion is college athletics."

His hobby?

That seems to be watching others get their start.

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E-mail: rock@desnews.com