a compression post assembly for a soffit , canopy or like structure utilizing a suspended grid of inverted tees to support the soffit surface forming panels comprising a main strut and a saddle coupling , the main strut having a hollow cross - section along substantially its full length between its upper and lower ends , the saddle coupling being adapted to connect the lower end of the strut to a grid tee by receiving separate self - tapping screws , one in each of the main strut and grid tee , the saddle coupling having a pair of spaced depending legs , the legs being spread apart by a distance sufficient to straddle the bulb of a conventional grid tee and having a length sufficient to engage the upper surfaces of the lower flange of the grid tee and thereby stabilize the grid tee against pivotal motion about a horizontal axis .