INDIANAPOLIS - Ryan Harris plans to put his gubernatorial aspirations on hold indefinitely.

The offensive lineman from Notre Dame has more immediate goals, like chasing a big payday in the NFL.

“Football is my dream, something I’ve worked for since I started playing the game,” Harris said recently at the NFL scouting combine. “But I think politics is a good avenue to affect people’s lives. I believe in this country and this system of government.”

To Harris, it’s a perfect mix.

A successful NFL career could give him instant name recognition when he decides to run for office in his native Minnesota and, besides, how many 22-year-olds are actually elected to major offices?

At 6-foot-4, 305 pounds, Harris looks svelte compared to the two behemoths who went in the first round — Joe Thomas of Wisconsin and Levi Brown of Penn State — and he’s still considered one of the best tackle prospects in April’s draft.

The Broncos agreed, taking him in the third round.

But Harris views life as more than football.

He graduated from the same high school — Cretin Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minn. — that has produced NFL quarterbacks Steve Walsh and Chris Weinke and Twins catcher Joe Mauer, the reigning American League batting champion.

Harris worked on the St. Paul mayor’s youth advisory board and was featured in an MTV show segment called “I Want the Perfect Body.” He’s already got a politicians’ polish. He’s clean-cut, deliberate in choosing his words and avoids even the tint of controversy.

Then again, Harris has never taken the easy way.

He converted to Islam in the eighth grade, then attended the country’s best-known Catholic university.

At Notre Dame, he became only the third freshman to start on the Fighting Irish offensive line.

The mixture of faith and football has come with tests.

During the holy month of Ramadan, which falls in the middle of football season, Muslims are expected to abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk. Harris does not, searching for other ways to observe his faith.

“I don’t fast because I don’t know how I could,” he said. “It’s a lot like Lent. There’s other things you can do. The month is really meant to bring you closer to your faith, and I do that. But fasting is not something I can do in my situation.”

On the field, Harris is just as devoted.

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He used prep wrestling as a way to improve his agility and stamina while also learning the intricacies of using an opponent’s body weight against them.

He’s scoured clips of NFL tackles such as Washington’s Chris Samuels and Seattle’s Walter Jones to get better.

Teammates respect him so much that that former Irish guard Dan Santucci appeared ready Thursday to become Harris’ campaign manager.

“Ryan Harris for governor, sure,” Santucci said. “I lived with him for a year, he’s an impressive guy.”

The question is what more can Harris do to impress NFL scouts?

He’s 13 pounds heavier now than last season’s listed playing weight and has proven he can hold up against NFL linemen such as former Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, now with the New York Giants.

He excelled the last two seasons in coach Charlie Weis’ pro-style offense, and even disc surgery on his back last July could not keep Harris off the field. He started every game.

So with the chance of a lifetime nearing, other interests will have to wait.

“Football is my goal now,” he said. “But politics is a close second.”