He is currently in his senior year at Louisiana State University. He spent his freshman and sophomore year at the University of North Texas. He also helped the United States. squad to a gold medal in the 4×100 metres relay.
Talley was the first North Texas Mean Green athlete to medal at the Pan American Junior Championships.
In his freshman year at North Texas, Talley was named the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, the only male athlete to accomplish that feat in school history. He also became the first athlete in North Texas history to win gold at the National Junior Championship, winning the 200-meter dash (2086). At the 2009 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in Portuguese of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Talley won a silver medal in the 200 metres with a personal best of 20.78 seconds.
