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AUBURN, Ala. | A year ago, Malik Talley was roaming the halls of Scottsboro (Ala.) High School as a basketball player. He hadn't played football in years.

But second-year coach Patrick Nix convinced Talley to join the football team and now he's a rising 2016 wide receiver on the verge of receiving his first scholarship offer.

Nix, a former Auburn quarterback and long-time college coach, called Talley's rapid development incredible.

"We didn't get him until June so we had a limited time to work with him during the summer to teach him the offense and do a lot of fundamental work with him," Nix said. "As the season went on, he just got better and better with understanding the game of football.

"I'm looking forward to a full offseason with him. I think the sky's the limit for him with the ability that he has."

Talley's rise started with a trip to Auburn's camp last summer where he ran a 4.40 40-yard dash. This fall, he caught 22 passes for 313 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 34.8 yards per catch.

He also averaged 24.3 yards per kick return including one for a touchdown.

"I'm not sure what his reach is but it's incredible," Nix said. "His range and his speed, when the ball goes in the air it's basically impossible to overthrow him. He's done some things in games that are just like, 'Wow, he got to that ball.' I think the biggest thing is his range -- how long he is, how fast he is and how athletic he is."

Talley, 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, is receiving interest from Auburn, Missouri, Louisville and a number of smaller in-state schools.

Nix also has a couple of talented 2017 prospects that are garnering college attention in running back DK Billingsley and wide receiver Dylan McQueen.

Billingsley, 5-foot-10 and 192 pounds, rushed for 1,329 yards and 19 touchdowns on 223 carries as a sophomore. He suffered a knee injury in 8th grade but returned to start as a cornerback on the varsity as a 9th-grader before moving to running back last year.

"DeKarlos is an incredible kid, first of all -- great student, great kid. He's as hard a worker as you're going to find," Nix said. "He's a very powerful kid with very good vision. He has very good balance and his speed has gotten better and better since his knee injury.

"He is a rock, chiseled. He's very strong, very well put together. He has great hands, great protector. He does it all as a running back. He's a complete package as a running back."

McQueen, 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, caught 34 passes for 458 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore.

"Dylan is a very explosive athlete, extremely quick. He can just do incredible things with the ball in his hands," Nix said. "He has an incredible ability when the ball is in the air of just going up and finding crazy ways to make catches in groups. He has really, really good ball skills.

"I think he could be a great corner also. I think he has the ability. We didn't play him as much at corner this past year, we had a senior over there, but we'll play him more this coming year."