BATON ROUGE - With the days to Super Bowl 50 counting down, the Southwestern Athletic Conference sat down for a Q&A session with former All-SWAC defensive lineman for the Southern Jags, Arthur Miley.

Miley is currently in his first season with the Super Bowl contender Carolina Panthers, who’ll take on the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

SWAC: Walk us back through your last days at Southern University and signing and NFL contract with the Carolina Panthers.
It has been a long journey.  I left school to go train and after I didn’t get drafted, I had a couple of teams showing interest but I decided to with Carolina because of the SWAC ties with my D-Line coach Eric Washington who played for Grambling State back in day.  I just thought it would be a good idea to play for someone that had the same background as me.

SWAC: Since 2013, Southern has been in contention to win its division.  Were you able to keep up with the Jaguars much this past season?
Absolutely! I kept up with the team a good bit. Some of my best friends are still on the team out there. Some of us still communicate every other day. I always check the scores at the end of every Saturday night in the SWAC.

SWAC: The Devan Gales spinal injury was one of college football’s biggest stories in 2015. Were you able to make contact with him during his difficult transition?
Yes. You just hate to see any athlete go through something like that especially a former teammate.  He’s a terrific guy.  I can still see myself sitting in the classroom with him as we actually shared the same major at Southern.  He continues to fight hard and I’m praying that he’ll walk again. As a matter fact, I know he’ll walk again.

SWAC: What is it like being a teammate of Cam Newton?
Aww man. It is never a dull moment.  Overall he’s just a great guy. He’s funny, charismatic, and he really does care about everyone that has their hands in the Carolina Panthers franchise.   

SWAC: What are the keys to Super Bowl Sunday for the Carolina Panthers defensively?
We just need to do what we’ve done all season.  No need to get to the Super Bowl and try and reinvent the wheel. Listen to the coaches, believe in the guy that’s next to you, and simply execute the game plan.